


I Demand More than a Montage!

by Rhiannimated



Series: The Royal Romance: a Maxwell and Riley Story [1]
Category: The Royal Romance (Visual Novel)
Genre: 69 (Sex Position), Angst, Apologies, Blow Job, Britney Spears Songs, Character Death In Dream, Cunnilingus, Dancing, Dream Sequences, Dry Humping, F/M, Flirting, Grinding, Kissing, Light Dom/sub, Making Out, Maxwell opening champagne correctly, Nsync songs, Richard Gere (mentioned), Secret Passages, Semi-Public Sex, Shall We Dance (movie), Snuggling, Spa Treatment, Spooning, The Exorcist (movie), Vaginal Fingering, bad mental health day, bondage (dream), friends to lovers?, middle school style dance party of two, moulin rouge - Freeform, nearly orgasmic back massage, platonic? cuddling, prejudice against unnaturally colored hair, will they won't they
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-07-02 23:16:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 32,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15806541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhiannimated/pseuds/Rhiannimated
Summary: There are two weeks between the Coronation Ball and the Engagement Tour, and Bertrand needs to train Riley to be the epitome of Courtly Etiquette.  Riley is cut off from all of her friends except Maxwell who is supportive, loyal, and lovable all along the way.  Not to mention HOT.  Bertrand's reaction to Riley falling for someone else wasn't encouraging, but with nothing to distract her, Maxwell becomes the person she thinks of every night as she falls asleep and every morning when she wakes up.  What REALLY happened in between all those courtly lessons?





	1. Chapter 1

“Home, sweet home,” Riley says, lugging her bag into her room at the Beaumont Estate. She looks around and is surprised by how much it does feel like home to be back here, even though she’s spent more time in the Palace. With extra special care, she takes out the beautiful dresses she collected over the social season, but had to pack hastily under the Palace Guard’s watchful eye. She lays them out on the bed, intending to steam them before putting them away. Before she does that, she puts away her underwear, casual clothes, and personal belongings in the bureau. She’s just about to start on her dresses when she hears a knock. “Hey,” she greets Bertrand when she opens the door.

“We should talk about the next few weeks,” he says without preamble. “Because of the plot against you, the press is currently having a field day smearing your name.”

“Great...” she replies.

He gives her a small, sympathetic smile. “I’ll figure out how best to spin the media circus, but you will have to ensure your future behavior is impeccable.”

“And that means...?” Riley asks, her heart sinking.

“There’ll be no mistakes in your education. You’re learning as much about courtly behavior as you can before the tour kicks off. This time, you’ll be prepared for anything!”

She nods. “Okay, sounds good.” He looks like he’s about to start in again and she holds her hand up. “Not tonight, though. The only thing I’m prepared for is eating some dinner, taking a bath, and going to bed. I feel like the floor of an airport right now.”

“Right, of course,” he says, looking disappointed. “I’ll have some dinner sent up, if you’d prefer to eat here?”

“I suppose that works,” she says.

He bows and takes his leave. As she shuts the door, she wonders who he’s going to send up with food, since she hasn’t seen a single servant since she’s arrived. No surprise there.

She passes by the mirror on her way to get the steamer out of the closet and she pauses to brush out her long blonde hair.  When she’s satisfied with her hair, she works on de-wrinkling the dresses with the steamer and hangs each of them in the closet with care.  Then she lines up the few pairs of shoes she owns underneath them.  By the time she’s shutting the closet door, she hears a knock. 

This time, Maxwell is standing there when she opens the door, carrying a tray with a bowl of food on it. There was also a bottle of wine and a single glass. “M’lady,” he says, bowing with the tray of food.

“Maxwell, put that down, please,” she says, rushing forwards to take the tray and place it on her bedside table. “Phew. I could just imagine all of this ending up on the floor and it looks so nice.

Maxwell doesn’t seem too bothered by the assumption that he’d drop the food. “Bertrand said you were hungry. I don’t know how to make many dishes, but this one is my specialty!” He whips off the covering and says, “Ta-da! Macaroni and cheese!”

Riley grins. “Thanks, Maxwell.”

“Any time!” he says cheerfully. “I’ll let you eat and unwind.” He heads for the door.

“Oh,” Riley says. “What are you up to?”

He turns back to her. “Oh, you know, scrollin’ social media, updating my blog, the usual,” he says, leaning against the wall and putting his hands in his pockets.

“You have a blog?” she asks him excitedly. “What is it?”

“OH, no,” he says. “No I-R-L friends allowed! Strangers only!”

Riley sighs but can’t help but grin. “Do you want to do all that here with me while I eat?” she asks, looking hopeful.

Maxwell grins. “Yeah, I can do that!” He looks around trying to find someplace to sit, but she’s on the only other chair in the room at her desk.

“Go ahead and kick back on the bed,” she says. “Just take off your shoes!”

He stops mid-climb onto the bed to take his shoes off and then settles back. “Wow, Bertrand definitely gave you some of the comfier pillows in this place.”

“Really?” she asks, and takes a bite of the macaroni and cheese. It’s delicious. “Mmmm, Maxwell, this is really good! You weren’t kidding about it being a specialty.”

“Do you want to know the secret?” he asks, leaning towards her conspiratorially.

She nods eagerly, taking another bite.

“The secret…is…BACON!” he shouts, grinning like a maniac.

Trying not to snort her food, Riley giggles. “I do love me some bacon,” she says in a fake southern accent.

“Whoa, what did your voice just do?” he asks, looking genuinely befuddled.

“You’ve never heard a southern accent before?” she asks, raising an eyebrow at him and taking another bite of the delicious pasta. “God, this is so good. Comfort food is exactly what I needed.”

“Happy to provide!” he grins and then turns to his phone.

She focuses on eating while he focuses on scrolling through his various social media apps. When she’s done, she asks, “Can you show me how to get to the kitchen from here? I can wash my plate.”

“Oh, nonsense, I’ll take care of it,” Maxwell says, leaping off the bed. He gathers up the tray and bowl and tries to leave.

“Uh, what about your shoes?” she asks, holding in a laugh.

He laughs sheepishly and puts the tray down, gathers his shoes to put them on, and then grabs the tray. “Have a good night, Riley!” he says, bowing out the door.

When he leaves, it feels like all the sunshine is sucked out of the room and replaced by a cloud of gloom and doom. She can't forget Bertrand’s shocked reaction when she said she was falling for someone else, and she can only imagine how disappointed he  
will be with her if he found who she’s falling for. He’d become apoplectic for sure.

With nothing else to do for the night, she takes a long, relaxing bath before crawling into bed. Where she thought she might be up all night considering the insane twist her life has taken, instead she falls fast asleep in minutes, thinking of Maxwell’s adorable, grinning face, looking at her as if she can accomplish anything in the world.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, like clockwork, Maxwell is knocking on Riley’s door. She answers it looking sleepy and disheveled and Maxwell’s heart thumps a little faster.  He’s so grateful to get to see her sleepy morning face, especially after the terrifying few hours the day before when he thought he'd never see it again.  

“Why are you waking me up already?” she asks with a hint of a whine.

He hands her a set of clothes she didn’t even realize he’d been holding. “Put these on and your sneakers! We’re going for a run!”

She takes the clothes but continues to stare at him.

“C’mon! Don’t just stand there!” he urges her, to no avail.

“I don’t…run,” Riley says, looking at the exercise clothes with disdain. “Isn’t there a less crappy way to stay in shape?”

Maxwell’s already stretching in place. “Nah, this is the best way. Plus, I can show you the gardens! We never got a chance to go on a grand tour before all the coronation insanity.”

He looks like such an adorable, hopeful puppy dog that she can feel herself slowly give in. She pushes him out of her room without speaking, shuts the door, and changes. When she opens the door again, Maxwell is on the floor doing push-ups and she stops and stares. Briefly, she remembers sitting on Liam’s back when he did pushups for his bet against Drake, and thinks about how amazing it would feel to sit on Maxwell’s nicely toned back.

She shuts the door and the noise causes Maxwell to spring up. “You ready to go?” he asks excitedly. “You should stretch if we’re going to do this. I’ll show you what I do!”

He starts in on a complicated stretching routine, and Riley does a much more simplified version she used to have to do in gym class.

“Right, okay, good enough!” he says and leads Riley outside to go for their morning jog. She’s so miserable about jogging that she barely notices the beauty of the gardens and even Maxwell’s jibber jabbering couldn’t tear her from her moody thoughts. Jogging is the worst, she thought over and over. When they finally come to a stop, she stalks into her room to freshen up and dress for the day.

When she feels less like strangling Maxwell for making her jog, Riley joins Maxwell and Bertrand for a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast in the kitchen.

“It feels so strange eating at the counter in this giant kitchen,” Riley comments between bites.

“It feels even stranger to eat in the dining room when there’s no one else here, trust me,” Maxwell says, demolishing his third piece of toast and showering the counter with crumbs. “Plus, it’s easier to clean up in here.”

Riley nods in agreement. “That is true. No rugs to vacuum.”

“As exhilarating as this conversation is,” Bertrand interrupts, “we should be discussing the plan for today. Riley, we will be training you in all relevant courtly dances you could possibly need on this tour. We’ll start with the Cordonian Waltz, since you’re at least familiar with it. We will progress through many others, so I hope you’ve had enough to eat to sustain your energy. Maxwell and I will meet you at the ballroom in about twenty minutes, and I expect you to have already stretched out properly before we arrive.”

“Sir, yes, sir!” Riley salutes and grins with her tongue between her teeth.

“That is hardly necessary,” he says, looking down his nose at her.

She rolls her eyes and carries her plate to the sink where she starts washing it.

“That’s not necessary, Lady Riley!” Bertrand insists, standing by her side in an instant.

“But, it’s fine, I can wash my own dishes,” she says.

“It’s not right.” He takes the dish from her and shoos her away. “We don’t want you to put your nails in jeopardy. We’ll be scheduling a manicure and pedicure for you the day before we depart and we need them to be in the best shape possible.” He begins washing the dish and when she doesn’t immediately get going he says, “Scoot! We have a lot to cover!”

Riley rolls her eyes again and heads off in the direction he indicated and tries to remember exactly how to get there. It takes her a few wrong turns, but eventually she finds herself in the middle of a ballroom. Once she knows where it is, she goes to her room and changes into more comfortable shoes for dancing and grabs a water bottle out of her room’s mini-fridge. On the way back to the ballroom, she jogs to warm up a bit. Inside the grand ballroom, she goes through the stretching she remembers from the dance classes she took at the local YMCA as a kid. The stretching feels peaceful and soon her annoyance at Bertrand for being so brusque has dissipated.

Maxwell stays behind to help Bertrand clean up the kitchen, and he’s very serious and focused on the task. Immediately, Bertrand is suspicious. “Not that I want to question your focus and determination, but what’s gotten into you? You haven’t tried to break dance or flip a plate over your head once. For which I am grateful!” he rushes to add.

“Nothing, Bertrand, we just need to help get Riley up to speed. The faster we clean up, the faster we can accomplish that,” Maxwell says, not looking up from where he’s wiping up the crumbs from the counter and tossing them in the trash. Then he grabs a broom and sweeps the whole kitchen down, with Bertrand watching him, fascinated.

“Well, I never thought I’d see the day,” he whispers to himself, but continues cleaning alongside his brother.

Maxwell has several trains of thought going at once at any given moment. While he cleans, his thoughts bounce between hurrying to get to see Riley, to thinking about why he’s rushing to go see Riley, to pushing those thoughts out of his head, and then considering that maybe he should try to go out tonight to stop thinking about Riley so much. But once the room is spotless, he throws the rag into the bin in the closet and skips off the ballroom.

He beats Bertrand by a few minutes, so he strolls to the middle of the ballroom to join Riley, whistling the whole way. “Are you ready to WAAAALTZ!?” he asks with more enthusiasm than is ever warranted for that early in the day.

It does make Riley smile, though. “Yeah, I guess I’m ready. From what I can remember it's: box step for awhile, twirl, box step, swaying together, and on and on until it somehow ends.”

“That’s about the long and short of it,” Bertrand says, striding into the ballroom with purpose. He pulls out a small black remote and points it at the back wall. A full orchestra playing a waltz booms around the ballroom and Bertrand takes his place in front of them as if he were a conductor. “From the beginning!” his voice booms out above the music.

Maxwell sweeps Riley into his arms and they take up the starting position. “Step, two, three, step, two, three,” Bertrand commands, and they move around the ballroom flawlessly. He twirls her and they box step and sway together perfectly, hitting every beat.

“You’re such a great dance partner,” Riley says to Maxwell as they follow the song through its many repetitions.

“It helps having such a lovely partner such as yourself,” Maxwell replies, smoothly twirling her under his arm.

She blushes as they come back to the starting form.

“Marvelous!” Bertrand cries when the music ends. “We’re now moving on to the English Waltz, because it’s sure to come up at some point.”

From there, Maxwell and Bertrand teach her waltz after waltz until it’s finally lunch time. “I’m starving,” Riley says on their way to the kitchen.

“Lunch today is French onion soup and grilled cheese,” Bertrand announces. “Maxwell will set the table. You rest at the counter, Riley. You deserve it after this morning’s work!”

Riley grins. “Thanks! I feel pretty confident that I can follow almost any waltz someone tries to throw at me!”

“Well, don’t get too cocky,” Bertrand says, arching an eyebrow. “Nevertheless, you did do quite well. Lunch will be ready in just a moment.”

Riley takes her seat at the counter and watches the brothers move around the kitchen together, setting the places and preparing the food. In this small moment, Bertrand almost looked relaxed, and they weren’t bickering quite as much.

The peace achieved by the brothers was completely gone by the afternoon dance lessons. For several more hours, Bertrand and Maxwell tried instructing Riley on various other dances that were not the waltz, and she was having a lot more trouble with it.

“Well, it’s your first time dancing some of these,” Bertrand says, seeming to be rationalizing it to them both. “Perhaps some sleep will help it lock into your memory.” He looks at his watch. “In about an hour, dinner will be served in the dining room. I expect you both to be prompt.” With that, Bertrand left the room, presumably to start cooking.

“My legs are going to hurt so much tomorrow,” Riley says, gingerly stretching a bit. “Between running for the first time in AGES, and dancing for hours on end…I’ll be lucky if I can walk tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll carry you everywhere,” Maxwell jokes. “Need a piggy back ride?”

Riley’s peel of laughter echoes around the ballroom. “I’d love one, but I’ll save it for later when I’m really hurting. For now, I guess I should get a bit cleaned up before dinner. Want to walk me to my room?” she asks.

He holds out his arm like a proper gentleman. “I would be honored to escort the lady back to her chambers!”

“You sound hot when you speak all Lordly,” Riley says cheekily.

Maxwell’s face heats up. “I’m not the one whose hotness you should be focusing on!”

She rolls her eyes. “Relax, Maxwell. In middle school, I had crushes on approximately 23 people all at once. I’m great at multitasking.”

“That’s so many people!” he looks at her in awe. “Did anything happen with any of them? Spill!”

“Maxwell, I was in middle school. Nothing happened,” she laughs. “Some of them weren’t even more than words on a page. I’ve always had a very romantic soul,” she sighs dramatically.

“Awe, baby Riley having crushes on book characters. That’s so cute!”

“Oh, shush,” Riley says, but she’s grinning.

“Do you still have that many crushes? That seems…exhausting. And that’s coming from ME, an endless ball of energy and dance parties!”

“Not anymore,” she grins. “But I can admire attractive people, and you are quite attractive, Maxwell Beaumont! Don’t even deny it!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t deny it; OBVIOUSLY I’m hot AF!” he says.

“Did you seriously just say AF instead of as fuck?” Riley asks, bursting into laughter. “You’re too much, Maxwell.”

They come to her door and he bows to her. “I’ll come back to escort you to dinner!”

“Thanks!” she says and enters her room to freshen up. In the en suite, she washes her face and uses some dry shampoo on her hair and then changes into a casual dress for dinner. She leaves the door propped open for when Maxwell comes to get her and then lies down on the bed, suddenly completely exhausted after all the dancing of the day and the whole ordeal the day before. Without realizing it, Riley slips off to a deep, dreamless sleep.

Maxwell goes to knock on the door to alert her to dinner, but the door squeaks open and he notices her passed out on the bed, still wearing her shoes. He smiles fondly at her and quietly takes off her shoes and puts them off to the side where she won’t trip on them when she wakes up. When he’s about to leave, he notices her phone on the bed, so he picks it up and plugs it in so it will be fully charged in the morning. Then, he finds a light blanket in her closet and drapes it across her, kissing her on the top of the head before leaving.

When Riley wakes several hours later, she checks her phone to see that it’s midnight and she’s still wearing the dress she intended to wear for dinner. On her bedside table, she notices a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and glass of water waiting for her. Her stomach growls, so she eats the sandwich and drinks the water. By the time she’s done, she’s sleepy once again, so she takes her dress off and crawls into bed, back into a dreamless, restful sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Another early morning wake-up call from Maxwell and invitation to go for a run. Every single part of Riley is in pain, but for some reason she accepts. They run all the way around the estate and by the time they arrive back at her room, she’s feeling a bit more limber.

“I guess I needed that,” she says. “Thanks, Maxwell.”

“Don’t mention it!” he replies jovially. “Hope you’re ready for more ballroom ballin’ after breakfast!”

“Oh, I’m ready,” she says with a grimace.

For the entire day, Bertrand and Maxwell go over all the dances she learned the day before, only this time she’s wearing heels.

“You’ve mastered several waltzes, but your quickstep’s a bit, well…” Maxwell trails off.

“SLOW,” Bertrand barks.

Riley glares at him and Maxwell says, “Let’s try that one again from the top!”

She sighs but complies. “Quick, quick, glide… quick, quick, glide…” Try as she might, though, she can’t keep up with Maxwell.

“Ugh! This is hopeless!” Bertrand cries and storms out of the ballroom.

Riley deflates onto the floor with her legs crossed and her dress spread out around her. “Ugh, he’s right.” She lets her head fall into her hands. "For some reason I can handle waltzing, but this is impossible! I'm hopeless."

“You’re not hopeless, Riley,” Maxwell says, quickly sinking to the floor next to her, but not before doing a little break dance spin on his way down. “You’re just a beginner, and Bertrand expects knowledge to spring up fully developed in people’s heads the minute he explains it to them.”

Riley’s hands drop and she looks at him. “That is very astute of you, Maxwell. But honestly, I don’t know how I’m going to learn all of these dances before the tour!”

Maxwell reaches out and holds her hand. “We’ll just keep practicing. Don’t worry, I know you’ll get it. Look how good you are at waltzing already! Why don’t we try again without Bertrand’s eagle eyes picking apart our every move?” He looks at her expectantly until she reluctantly nods. He bounces to his feet and pulls her up with him, but he pulls so hard that she collapses into him.

“Oof!” Riley steadies herself with a hand on his chest and notices how solid he is, not for the first time since meeting him. It always surprises her because he’s such a wiry fellow, but there is a well-made man under the sexy dress shirt. “You trying to launch me into space?”

“No, but you ARE out of this world,” he jokes.

She snorts a very undignified laugh that she’s glad Bertrand isn’t around to hear. “Oh, Maxwell. Let’s get this over and done with.”

He uses the small remote from his pocket to turn on the music and they take the starting position together. “You know the steps, you just need to let me lead you through it,” he says right before they begin to move.

Suddenly, when it’s just the two of them, Riley can hit all the steps perfectly. All she has to do is look into Maxwell’s bright eyes and let him lead her. Everything they’ve taught her about the dance finally clicks into place. Soon, they’re flying around the room, adding their own complicated bits of choreography to the dance, and they’re both laughing uproariously. When the song comes to a close, they collapse together in the middle of the ballroom, trying to catch their breath but unable to stop giggling.

“That is so much more fun when it’s just the two of us,” Riley says, her voice breathless.

Maxwell grins at her. “There’s a reason they call me the dance master.” He does a little shimmy where he sits.

When he settles again, Riley leans into him. She doesn’t see the blush that creeps up his neck.

“Thanks for being such a good friend, Maxwell,” she says into his shoulder.

“Of course!” he squeaks and then clears his throat. “You know I’m here for you no matter what.”

“I do,” she says with a contented sigh. “I’m going to miss hanging out like this when we’re on the Engagement Tour.”

“We’ll still hang out! And I’ll see you every morning, like clockwork,” he reassures her. He feels a slight pang in his heart, because he realizes how right she is. They won’t have nearly as much time as they’ve been having, but he shoves it down. This is all in the name of saving House Beaumont, and he won’t screw this up like he’s screws everything else up. “We should try another dance!”

“How about the Tango?” she asks.

He looks at her to see if she’s serious and she has a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

“Uh, how bout the foxtrot?” he says, jumping up and giving her a hand.

“If we must!” She sighs. “More fancy footwork.”

He changes the music until he finds an appropriate tune and takes her into his arms again, feeling giddy at being able to hold her for an innocent reason. He has to get this stupid crush under control.

They dance for several more songs until the hour has grown late and Riley must return to her room. “Guess it’s time for me to turn into a pumpkin,” she jokes.

“You would make an adorable pumpkin,” Maxwell says cheerfully. He escorts her back to her room, as he’s become accustomed to doing.

“Maybe I’ll make some pumpkin stew,” she laughs. “I think the bath in my en suite is calling my name.”

Heat flashes through Maxwell at the thought of her in the bath, and he struggles for a moment to keep his composure. “A warm bath is perfect for relaxing after a night filled with dancing!”

“You don’t happen to have any bubble bath supplies somewhere in this giant estate, do you?” she asks.

He lights up. “Yes, ma'am, as a matter of fact, I do!” They reach her door and he bows to her. “If you wait right here, I’ll go get some for you!”

She smiles as he bounds off to parts unknown. While he’s running around trying to find the bubble bath, she goes into her room, leaving the door ajar. She goes straight to the bath and turns the taps on until they’re the perfect temperature and then plugs up the bathtub so it will fill. A few minutes later, Maxwell still isn’t back, so she strips down to nothing and wraps a large, plush towel around herself so she’s ready to go as soon as he brings her the goods. She sits on her bed, waiting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maxwell hurries through the halls to his own room, trying very hard not to focus on the fact that Riley was about to take a bubble bath using some of his personal supply of bubbles. For some reason, this whole idea makes him giddy and he can hardly contain himself.

“Maxwell, what are you doing, running about the halls like a manic puppy at this time of night?” Bertrand barks at him.

Maxwell startles and nearly trips. “Nothing! Just getting some bubble bath for Lady Riley, that’s all!” Maxwell says, sounding extremely guilty.

Bertrand narrows his eyes. “If that’s all, why do you sound like you’ve done something wrong?”

Because my thoughts are in ALL the wrong places, Maxwell thinks ruefully. “I don’t know what you mean!” he says, trying to sound like his normal, cheerful self.

Bertrand sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "I suppose it's only a matter of time before I discover what new thing you've managed to screw up. Carry on." He continues on down the hall to his own bedroom, shaking his head and grumbling the whole way.

Maxwell slips into his room and throws things around in his pursuit for the bubble bath. Did he leave it in his closet? The bathroom? He finally finds it in a random drawer in his desk for some reason, shrugs, and goes on his way back to Riley’s room.

When he gets to her room, he sees that the door is ajar and raps his knuckles against it. This makes the door swing open a little bit more to reveal Riley lying on her bed with just a towel on. The door squeaks and her head snaps up. “Oh!” she exclaims, sitting up and holding the towel a bit tighter around herself. “There you are! I almost fell asleep waiting.” She hears the water still running and utters a curse before running for the bathroom.

Maxwell stands in the door holding the bubble bath loosely in his hand, trying to gain his composure. He’s already worked up and he was NOT expecting to walk in on a half-naked Riley. By the time she comes back, he’s breathing a little bit easier, but that goes out the window when he sees her again.

“Uh, here’s the bubble bath,” he says, trying so hard to sound normal.

“Thanks, Maxwell!” She looks at the label. “Mmm, pina colada. I’m going to want a drink after this!” She looks at the clock. “Might be a bit too late for that, though.”

Maxwell nods, “Right, too late...”

Riley looks up at him and raises an eyebrow. “You alright, there?”

“Uh-huh,” Maxwell nods again. Then he catches himself. “I mean, yep! I’m fine! But, it’s uh, getting late! I should go to bed. Enjoy your bath!” He utters a nervous laugh and nearly sprints out of the room, the door swinging shut behind him.

Riley laughs in bewilderment. “Wonder what that was all about?” she says to herself on the way back to the bath. Could he be catching feelings for her back? He is always complimenting her…She shakes her head and hangs her towel on the hook on the door. She adds the bubbles to the tub, sinks into the water, and forgets all about the world for a while. Tomorrow will be another long day of learning the ins and outs of courtly life, but for now, she can relax.


	4. Chapter 4

Another morning dawns, consisting of running with Maxwell, eating breakfast at the kitchen counter, and then preparing for courtly lessons.

Once again, Riley finds herself in the ballroom, dancing in Maxwell’s arms as she tries to follow his lead and remember all the moves. A little bit of muscle memory is kicking in, but she still lags behind, causing Bertrand to become more and more agitated.

After the fifth time she’s failed at the quickstep, Bertrand scowls. “Lady Riley, are you even trying?” He demands.

Maxwell sees Riley’s face turning red and tries to think of a way to diffuse the situation, but he hesitates a moment too long.

“Bertrand Beaumont, I’m trying to learn these steps as HARD as I can. Maxwell and I were up for an extra HOUR dancing last night just to practice and my feet. Are. Sore. YOU try dancing for two days straight in high heels!” She yanks one of her shoes off and advances on him. “If you patronize me one more time, you’re getting this heel through your eye!”

Bertrand backs up, wide eyed, and Maxwell grabs the shoe from Riley.

“Okay! Let’s walk it back a bit! Bertrand, how about we take a breather, you can go…take a walk, or get a drink,” Maxwell says, shooing him out of the room and putting an arm around Riley. “Let’s go sit in one of the comfiest couches in the estate for a bit.  
How does that sound?” he asks her, ignoring Bertrand’s indignant huffing at being told what to do by his little brother.

“It sounds fine, but my feet hurt. Can we just sit here for a minute?” Riley says quietly.

Bertrand hears her and frowns. Without another word, he turns on his heel and walks away.

“How bout this. Take off your other shoe, first,” he suggests.

She takes it off and he hands her the one he took from her in the first place. “Now what?” she asks.

“Now this!” he says. Then, he swoops her up into his arms, bridal style.

Startled, Riley throws her arms around his neck to hold herself up, carefully managing not to hit Maxwell in the head with her shoes. “Whoa, Maxwell! You’re strong,” she says in an admiring voice.

“Nah, you’re just super light,” he says jovially.

“You charmer,” she blushes, playfully slapping at his shoulder.

He carries her out of the ballroom. They walk down a few doors and he somehow manages to open the door while carrying her.

Right before he deposits her onto the couch, she plants a kiss on his cheek. “Thanks for the lift.”

His face heats up. “Anything for you, Riley.” He tries to set her down, but she refuses to let go of his shoulders once she’s on the couch. “Um, Riley? You kinda need to let go now.”

“I knoooow,” she says and inhales deeply. “But you have to tell me a secret.”

He swallows. “What kind of secret?”

“How…do you smell this good after dancing for so long?! Are you like Richard Gere in Shall We Dance? With his sweet smelling sweat?”

“Richard Gere wishes he was me!” Maxwell scoffs. Riley lets him go and he stands up. “But I do love that movie.”

She kicks her feet in the air and claps. “I’m so glad you know what I’m talking about!”

“Of course I do! I love dance movies.” He sits down next to her and she props her feet up on his lap.

“Me too! I wish I could dance like the people in them. Maybe then Bertrand wouldn’t be yelling at me so much to get my shit together.”

Maxwell laughs and starts to massage the soles of her feet. “I’m not sure Bertrand’s ever said such a low word as ‘shit’ in his life, but now I want to hear it.” Riley rolls her eyes and he continues, “You have to remember that the people in those movies are given the benefit of multiple takes and lots of film editing. You’re a real person and you’re allowed to make real mistakes. Not everyone is a perfect dancer, but not everyone even tries. At least you’re trying!”

Riley lets out a long groan that startles Maxwell. She laughs. “Sorry, I was holding that in during your pep talk. Your hands feel soOoOoO goOoOoOd!” She moans as his fingers keep up their soothing circles. “Thank you so much Maxwell. For the pep talk and the massa-aaaahhhhggeeeee.” The pressure feels so good, she thinks she might float right off the planet.

“I’m glad I can make your feet feel better.” Maxwell smiles to himself. “You’ll be in tip-top dance condition in no time!”

“I don’t think I’m ever going to dance again,” she declares, crossing her arms and pouting.

“Aw, come on, George Michael, don’t talk like that!” Maxwell says, sounding seriously alarmed. “I know Bertrand is demanding and insulting, and I know this isn’t much of an excuse, but he does it because he cares way too much. He feels guilty for what happened to you under his care and he doesn’t want anything to get in the way of clearing your name. He’s pushing YOU hard because he feels responsible for what happened.”

Riley lets out a long, drawn out and dramatic sigh. “I guess I know that deep down. But he’s really getting on my last nerve!”

“Yeah, you’re a little scary when you’re mad. I thought Bertrand was going to need a fitting to get an eye patch,” Maxwell laughs.

Riley laughs, too, but it tapers off. “I guess we should go back to some sort of training...”

“How do your feet feel?” Maxwell asks.

“Much better after that massage,” she says.

“Good enough to dance some more?”

She scrunches up her nose. “Do we have to?”

“We don’t, but I had an idea that might make it fun,” he says, bouncing in his seat.

She looks at him expectantly. “Well? Are you going to let me in on this idea?”

“Only if you say you trust me!” he says.

“Of course I trust you, Maxwell.”

“Excellent!” He sweeps her up in his arms again and makes his way back to the ballroom. When they are back in the center of the room, he fiddles with the remote for the music until old school Britney Spears starts playing. “Oh baby, baby,” Maxwell sings along, giving her an impish look and doing the dance from the music video.

“This isn’t the kind of music I would expect at a courtly function,” Riley says, grinning.

“Yeah, probably not, but who says we can’t have a little fun?” He holds out his hand and she takes it without hesitation. He starts to lead her around the ballroom, doing all the different steps they’ve learned over the past few days. Then “Bye Bye Bye” by NSync comes on, and Riley starts doing what she remembers of the dance from the music video with Maxwell keeping up with her. After that, they spend a few songs free-styling and occasionally falling into some of the steps Riley needs to know. They’re mostly goofing off and letting the music take them wherever they felt like. When another Britney song comes around, “Sometimes,” the two of them come together, Riley’s hands on Maxwell’s shoulders, his hands on her waist.

“I feel like we’re at a middle school dance,” Riley giggles.

“I went to an all male boarding school growing up, so I’ve never been to a middle school dance before. This is fun!”

They sway back and forth together, singing along for a while. Then Riley speaks up again. “I never actually got to dance with anyone at my middle school dance. I just watched from the sidelines wishing someone would ask me.”

“I definitely would’ve asked you!” Maxwell exclaims, leading her into a twirl and then a dip, back to swaying side to side.

She giggles and steps a little bit closer to him, leaning her head on his chest. It felt so right to be in his arms like this and she can’t help but wish they could do this all the time. She’s not even sure he would want to, but he hasn’t stopped her from cuddling up during this dance, so maybe it’s a good sign.

Having Riley so close scrambles Maxwell’s senses and makes it impossible to think. She seems so content when it’s just the two of them and it makes him wish Bertrand would give them a lot more time alone together, but being alone with her is really causing Maxwell a lot of problems. He forgets to tell her important things and train her in critical courtly behavior because he’s too busy being awestruck by her presence, and if it weren’t for Bertrand and a good portion of help from Hana during the social season, Riley never would’ve made it as far as she did. He doesn’t deserve her in the slightest, but a deep part of him can’t help but want.

Their slow dance comes to an end and they both sigh, parting, but still standing closer than usual. Riley stifles a huge yawn.

“Someone’s sleepy!” Maxwell says, grinning adorably.

“All this dancing has taken a lot out of me,” she admits, stifling yet another yawn. “Wish you could come cuddle me to sleep.”

“Cuddle you to sleep?” Maxwell repeats, surprised. “Why?”

“I get lonely when I go to bed. If you’re there with me, I wouldn’t be alone. Also, after dancing like that, I know you’re super comfy.” She winks at him.

“Of course I’m super comfy.” He’s quiet for a moment, looking her in the eyes. “I’d like to cuddle you to sleep. But Bertrand would probably kill us both.”

Riley grimaces. “Even if they’re just friendly cuddles?”

Maxwell smiles fondly at her. “Eh, to hell with Bertrand. I’ll at least come in for a few minutes while you try to fall asleep.”

“Really?” Riley lights up. Her eyes take on a mischievous glint. “Will you carry me to my room?”

“Yes, ma'am!  Piggy back or bridal style?” he asks, not even batting an eye.

“I don’t think this dress will allow for piggy back,” she says, taking in her fairly straight skirt.

Maxwell scoops her up and she puts her arms around his neck again. She nuzzles into his shoulder as he walks, making his heart beat double time. They don’t talk on the way to her room, as though they’re both trying to keep Bertrand from discovering them.  
He lets her down at her door.

“Want to go change into PJs and come back?” she asks, opening her door.

“Yeah, be back in five,” he says, and disappears down the hall.

Quickly, she steps out of her dress and pulls on a long nightgown. She does all her business in the bathroom and then sits in her bed, waiting. After a few minutes, Maxwell knocks lightly and opens the door when she calls, “Come in!”

When Maxwell opens the door, he’s expecting to see Riley in a t-shirt, and nothing could’ve prepared him for the look of her in that nightgown. It was sleeveless and the soft, white fabric gently draped over Riley’s gorgeous form and he sucked in a breath so hard he started coughing.

“Are you okay?” Riley asks, alarmed.

“Fine,” he coughs out.

She eyes his blue plaid pj bottoms and matching solid blue shirt. “I think this is the most informal I’ve ever seen you,” she says, smiling. “You’re adorable.

“Duh!” he says, recovering from his awkwardness. He strolls over to the right side of the bed that she’s left open for him and crawls in next to her. “How do we do this?” he asks, sounding a little nervous.

Riley scooches down under the covers and indicates for Maxwell to follow suit. Then she rolls over to face her left and pulls his right arm over her so they’re spooning. Enveloping warmth spreads through her and she starts breathing deeper immediately. “You are so comfy,” she says on a happy sigh.

Maxwell is deliriously happy. The only cuddles he’s ever had were with his stuffed animals growing up and this was SO MUCH BETTER. She’s so warm and soft to touch, and he can nuzzle into her hair and smell her sweet conditioner. He doesn’t even care when her hair tickles his nose. He’s completely content except for one thing that has him on high alert.

Riley’s bum is pressed right up against his crotch. She’s breathing more and more deeply, and he can feel her falling asleep, but she keeps wiggling closer to get more comfortable and it’s about to cause a pretty big (he giggles to himself) problem. He talks to himself in his head. “Stop it, penis! This is friendly cuddling only! No one wants your attention right now!” he scolds his dick, to no avail. It’s still trying to rise up and join the situation. He moves his hips back a little, and Riley’s backside follows suit. He whimpers.

The whimper must’ve made it through to Riley’s consciousness, because she rolls toward him, forcing him to roll over onto his back. She keeps rolling until she has her left leg curled over Maxwell’s left leg and her head snuggled up against Maxwell’s chest. Almost immediately, she’s deep asleep.

This position is a lot less compromising, except that he’s effectively pinned down and unable to move, which he had planned to do as soon as she was asleep. While he’s stuck here, he decides to stay present and think of nothing but the feeling of Riley in his arms, the sounds of her sleeping breaths, and the smell of her hair. Eventually, he nods off as well, feeling safe and and comfortable in their cocoon.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, Maxwell wakes up when his phone alarm goes off, and he’s amazed it still has battery.

“The fuck?” Riley’s groggy voice sounds next to him.

“Sorry, Riley, I must’ve fallen asleep here,” he whispers. “I gotta get out of here before Bertrand notices.”

Luckily his alarm wakes him up early enough to get dressed and beat Bertrand to wake up Riley every morning, so he makes it to his room without incident.

From there, the next three days follow such a similar pattern that they blend together in Riley’s mind. Up early to run with Maxwell, eat breakfast, learn some sort of courtly skill, eat lunch, practice said courtly skill, eat dinner, practice some more, and then collapse into bed exhausted. One day she learns all about diplomacy, which she knows will be helpful, but at this present moment is only boring as all hell.

Another day she learns the history of Cordonia, and is tasked with learning every noble’s name, spouse, children, and at least two generations back. She struggles to keep focused on Bertrand’s often patronizing voice without strangling him. Maxwell sits in on most of these lessons as well, although occasionally he’s ordered by Bertrand to take care of some sort of household responsibility that Riley’s not privy to. At least when he’s in the room, she has constant amusement, since Maxwell can’t sit still for more than five minutes at a time. Bertrand’s scolding only added to the entertainment, and she thinks Maxwell knows that.

Their friendly snuggle session does not make a repeat occurrence, much to the dismay of both of them, though they’ve both played it off as if it’s no big deal. Heading to bed becomes Riley’s absolute least favorite time of the day, especially since she hasn’t been able to sleep well since she’s experienced how peaceful it is to sleep in Maxwell’s arms.

Maxwell can’t sleep because he’s plagued by thoughts of breaking Liam’s heart, letting Bertrand down, and seeing either of their “disappointed” faces. He’s used to causing minor disappointments, but falling for Riley could get him exiled by everyone he cares about. Maxwell is a people person. He needs people! His panic keeps him up all hours of the night, making him itchy in his own skin.

By the time a full week has passed since the night of the coronation, they’ve moved on to learning about food and wine tasting.

They sit at the kitchen counter set with lots of different foods and a couple of bottles of wine. They each only have a tiny splash of wine in their glasses and Riley knocks it all back, swishing it around in her mouth before swallowing. “Hmm, this Cabernet is pretty good,” she says, happy that this lesson at least includes alcohol.

Bertrand gives her his trademarked scowl. “That might have passed for a reaction in a dive bar in New York, but in the royal court, you'd be laughed out of the room!”

Riley gives him some side eye. “I meant to say... the mouthfeel of this Cabernet is velvety and full, with jammy stone-fruit flavors.”

“I can almost taste the pretension. It's perfect,” Maxwell says, ever supportive.

“Ugh, I don’t even know what that means,” Riley rolls her eyes.

They move on to food tasting, which at least improves Riley’s mood, but it takes so long for Bertrand to explain everything she needs to know about each dish that by the time they’re done, it’s almost 9pm. Bertrand finally dismisses them.

“Can you believe Bertrand was going to let these whole bottles of wine go to waste after only taking a few sips of each?” Riley asks Maxwell as they slowly walk back to her room. She takes a sip, privately thinking that this is part of the reason the Beaumonts are broke, and switches bottles with him.

He takes a swig and smacks his lips. “Want to know a secret?” he asks.

“Of course!” Riley replies, taking the bottle from him.

“I don’t know what either of these have notes of, where they came from, or how old they are, but they’re sure making me happy!” he exclaims.

Riley laughs. “They’re making me happy, too.” The two of them are walking as slow as they possibly can, but she can see her room up ahead. She’s exhausted, but dreading going in for the night, because she has no one to talk to once those doors close out the rest of the world. Sighing, she takes a long pull from the wine bottle and swallows.

“What’s up, little blossom?” he asks, smiling down at her.

She wracks her brain for an answer that makes sense, but her thoughts are getting a little cloudy from the wine. “I don’t know. Do you wanna watch a movie with me?”

His eyes go wide. “Really!? You wanna watch a movie with ME?”

Riley can’t help the giggle that bubbles out of her. “Yes, YOU, I don’t see anyone else around. It’s not like I’d ask Bertrand to cuddle me.”

“Cuddle,” Maxwell says, laughing nervously, thinking about how good it felt last time. “I thought you wanted to watch a movie...”

She narrows her eyes at him playfully. “You nervous to be alone with me in a dark room, Lord Beaumont? I promise to keep your virtue in tact.”

His laugh turns more genuine. “I’m not sure I’ve ever had virtue. Sure, let’s watch a movie!”

He leads her down a different hallway and she raises an eyebrow at him. “Where are we going?” she asks.

“You’ll see!” he says, sounding as excitable as ever.

She grins and takes another sip of wine. They turn down one more hallway and come to a set of large double doors that looks like it could lead to another ballroom, but when Maxwell opens it, a deluxe home movie theatre is revealed. “Wow, Maxwell!” She goggles at the sight and then smacks his arm.

“What was that for?” he asks, rubbing his arm, even though it didn’t really hurt.

“You’ve had a movie theatre this whole time and never thought to bring me here? We’ve been here for a week!”

“Oh...when you put it that way, it does sound silly of me. Well, we’re here now! What do you wanna watch?” He opens a a closet and there are rows upon rows of media available.

“Wow, it would take me all night just to look through everything you have!” She scans the titles. “Are you in the mood for anything in particular? You at least know what’s in here...”

“How about you pick a genre, and I’ll pick one randomly,” he says.

“Genre…you don’t happen to have any musicals, do you?” she muses out loud, thinking it would be fun to sing along to something emotional and wholesome, like The "Sound of Music" or "Singin’ In The Rain."

Maxwell scoffs. “Do I have musicals, the lady asks. DO I HAVE MUSICALS?” He moves to a specific section of their extensive catalogue and closes his eyes. Randomly, he juts out a finger and pulls the title off the shelf. “Have you seen ‘Moulin Rouge?’” he asks, internally cursing himself for picking this one. Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor just do things to him that aren’t polite for company that is supposed to only be a friend.

“Of course! Yes! That is the perfect movie to watch right now.” She does a little dance. “I LOVE this movie!” It isn't what she’d had in mind, but with all of the tumultuous emotions going on inside of her, this was the perfect show to sing it out to.

She looks so excited that Maxwell definitely cannot say no, so he goes over to the entertainment center, fiddles with the controls, pops the disc in and sets the volume. When he looks at her, she’s still grinning and it’s infectious. “Feel free to sit anywhere!” he says, gesturing at all the empty seats.

There were rows of regular movie theatre style seats and two rows in the very middle that were made up of extravagant, luxurious couches and love seats. As soon as her eyes land on those, she makes her way over to the love seat closest to the center. There’s a table conveniently placed next to it, so she sets her wine bottle on it after taking another generous pull. When she sits, she realizes Maxwell isn’t with her, and she looks around, finding him at the very back of the room, feet up on the row in front of him. He waves.

“Maxwell Beaumont, get your silly butt over here right now,” she commands.

He gulps and immediately obeys, dropping his feet down and standing. To make up for the fact that he obeyed her without thinking, he blurts, “Hey, my butt is NOT silly, it is nothing but 100% sexy!” and then he slaps himself on the ass.

Riley collapses onto the love seat, laughing hysterically.

Maxwell skips down the aisle, happy he’s able to make her laugh so much. He puts his wine bottle next to Riley's and falls into the love seat to the right of her, slinging his left arm across the back of the seat behind her. “You ready for the movie?” he asks and turns to her. His heart skips a beat when he realizes her face is so close to his. “Hello, there,” he says, much softer than his usual, excited voice.

“Hey! Hell yeah I’m ready for the movie!” She leans into Maxwell’s arm behind her, leaving a respectable inch or so between them. “We’re singing every part of this, I hope you know.”

“Obviously!” He uses the remote to start the movie and tries to relax. This is a difficult task, considering Riley is sitting so close to him, but he tries to do some deep breathing exercises surreptitiously.

“There was a boy...” Toulouse begins singing on the screen with Riley singing along next to him. Maxwell joins in, “A very strange enchanted boy...”

Riley grins up at him and he can’t help the silly grin on his own face when he catches her eye. They settle into the movie and let the spectacle wash over them. 

They pass the wine bottles back and forth until they're both empty. Maxwell frowns when he gets the last drop of the last bottle but places it on the table next to the other empty bottle, and then startles when he feels Riley lean into his side and put her head on his shoulder.

“Mmm, you are so comfy,” she says, her voice slurring a little from wine and sleepiness.

He utters a slightly hysterical laugh. “I try,” he says, his voice a squeak.

She looks up at him from his shoulder about to say something else, but then she inhales deeply. “You also smell reeeaaaally good,” she says, and sleepily kisses him on the neck.

Maxwell’s entire body shudders in pleasure and then freezes.

Riley doesn’t notice and continues kissing his neck, going from small pecks to open mouth nibbling.

He glances down at her, afraid to move his head, feeling like he’s on fire and made of ice all at the same time.

When she doesn’t seem to get a reaction out of him, she makes a frustrated little noise and bites Maxwell’s neck, making him yelp and sit up straight, dislodging her. She sits back, pouting. When she sees Maxwell’s panicked face she wakes up a bit and feels her heart fall to her feet. “I’m sorry, Maxwell, I guess that was out of line.”

He takes a few deep breaths, trying to get himself under control. In his head, he tells himself, “Come on, Maxwell, get it together! This is your friend, Riley, the woman you’re sponsoring to marry King Liam! You can’t screw this up! Bertrand will incinerate you with the power of his intense disappointment if he catches you like this!” No matter what he tells himself, though, the temptation to lean down and kiss Riley still courses through his veins. And he’s never been good at avoiding temptation.

When he doesn’t say anything, Riley says, “It’s okay, Maxwell. We’re good friends. I won’t try anything like that again...”

Maxwell frowns. “We are good friends, aren’t we?” he says contemplatively.

“Of course we are!” she says, now seriously afraid that she’s broken their trust forever.

“And good friends sometimes kiss...right?” Maxwell says, his voice full of drunken rationalization.

“Oooh,” Riley says, catching on. She nods enthusiastically. “Totally. Good friends TOTALLY kiss sometimes!”

The look in her eyes is full of so much lust that it takes Maxwell’s breath - and sense of reason - away. They hold this heated look for a few beats and then Maxwell mutters under his breath, “Fuck it.” They kiss once, hard, and separate. Then again for slightly longer. And again. Until their tongues are wrapping around each other, Maxwell’s hands are deep in Riley’s hair, and she’s grasping at his arms so she doesn’t fall off the love seat. When she nearly falls off again, she growls in frustration and swings her leg over so she’s straddling Maxwell. This has the added benefit of giving her a much better angle and she deepens the kiss.

When her hot center slides against his erection, Maxwell groans fervently into the kiss, holding Riley even closer. In the back of his mind, he knows they’re playing a very dangerous game right now, but he can’t bring himself to stop. Riley’s lips tastes so good, her hair is so soft when he grips the back of her head, and her thighs are ridiculously strong where they hold him in their grasp. He doesn’t think he could move if he wanted to, which is fine by him, because there’s no place he’d rather be. Except maybe a LITTLE closer, but he tries not to think that thought too hard. The little rocking motion she’s making is causing him enough problems.

Riley knows they’ve crossed a line many moments ago, but she can’t find it in herself to care. It’s been so long since anyone has touched her like this and she’s starved for the affection. Not to mention, Maxwell was a REALLY good kisser. The wine and hormones swirl around her brain, and she kisses him feverishly, feeling like if she stops, she’ll cease to exist. Her hips move a little more desperately, and Maxwell’s hands come down to hold them still. She gasps into his mouth.

“Fuck, Maxwell,” she says, opening her eyes and staring into his. He looks completely starstruck. She swivels her hips just to see the reaction play out on his face.

“Hng, Riley,” he cries out, grasping her hips so tightly she wouldn’t be surprised to find bruises there later. “I’m so turned on I can barely see straight.”

“Mmm, I know, I can feel it,” she says in a warm and happy voice. Riley leans over to whisper in his ear. “You feel really, really good.” She kisses up and down his neck, reveling in the gasps and happy moans he lets out.

By the time they realize the movie has stopped, both of them are in dire need of release, but neither one seems to know how to move from kissing to making that happen. And then the clock starts to chime midnight.

Maxwell lets out a disappointed groan. “I’ve got to get you to your room or else Bertrand will have a fit that I kept you up too late.” His voice is hoarse and still filled with lust.

They both stand up and stretch.

“Oh Riley, your hair is a mess!” Maxwell declares when he turns to look at her. “I’m so sorry I messed it up so much!”

She shrugs. “Totally worth it. But let’s get going, I guess. I need some sleep before going through the next training gauntlet tomorrow.”

Maxwell actually feels somewhat proud of the mess her hair is, but he’s terrified that Bertrand will catch them on the way to her room. He sends a silent prayer to every deity he could think of and takes her hand. “Let’s go. I think I know a short cut.”

He leads her down a hall and into what looked like a normal living room, but Maxwell pulls a book off the mantle of the fire place and it swings open to reveal a secret passage.

“Maxwell, at some point when I am less wine drunk, we need to discuss why you’ve been keeping all these secrets from me about the estate. I thought I was a Beaumont now! I should know all this stuff!” she ribs him playfully as they walk through the somewhat spooky secret passage.

“I cross my heart and hope to die that I will show you everything by the end of the week. No one will get in our way of a thorough tour of House Beaumont!”

She shushes him. “Don’t be so loud,” she giggles. “Bertrand’s gonna hear us and if he sees my hair, he’s going to know exactly what we were doing.”

“Ugh, don’t say that,” he lowers his voice to a whisper. “He'll literally kill me.”

“I wouldn’t let him do that,” she says fiercely.

“That would be a sight to see!” They come to the end of the secret passage and Maxwell carefully opens the door, looking down the hallway both ways to make sure the coast is clear. “We’re good, come on.” He leads her to her door and she quickly opens it, stepping in and turning to look at him one more time before bed.

“Thanks for the movie, Maxwell,” she says, gazing at his lips and licking her own. “It was...fun.”

“The funnest!” he agrees with a bouncy nod. But then the smile slides off his face. “We probably shouldn’t do that again, though...no matter how fun it was.”

She sighs but agrees. “Probably.”

They stare at each other, a mix of sadness, adoration, and lust on their faces.

“Once more for posterity?” he asks and she quickly launches herself into his arms, kissing him ferociously. He catches her, carries her into the bedroom, swings the door shut with his foot and presses her up against it. “Riley,” he groans, leaning into her so she can feel his stubborn arousal against her middle.

“Oh, Maxwell,” she says, head spinning at how quickly the blood leaves her head and flows south. She’s throbbing in her underwear, desperate for some friction. She slides her hand down his chest and reaches for the hardness pressed up against her but Maxwell’s hand comes down to stop her.

He steps back. “I’m sorry, Riley. I can’t...I can’t do this. I have to go.”

She slumps against the door. “Okay. Sorry for going too far.” Riley pushes herself off the door and kicks her shoes across the room. “I’ll go to bed now.” She looks back at him, biting her lip. “Night, Maxwell.” She reaches down to pull up her dress and his eyes widen, which gives her an idea. “Actually, can you help me with the zipper? It sometimes gets stuck.”

"Yes, ma'am."  He gulps and walks over to her. He carefully pulls down the zipper and nearly cries as each second reveals more of her beautiful, creamy, smooth skin that looks like it would be super fun to kiss. But, he manages to stop himself this time. Somehow, he’s gotten himself under control. “Goodnight, Riley,” he says, sounding more somber than she’s ever heard him. He quickly leaves the room, shutting the door behind him.

Riley tosses her dress into a corner, collapses into her bed, and grabs her vibrator from the top drawer of her bedside table. “Guess it’s just me, tonight...again.” She sighs, but with how worked up she is, it only takes her a few minutes to get off. She drops the vibrator into her drawer without bothering to clean it, rolls over, and falls fast asleep for the first time in days.  

Maxwell is having a much more difficult time trying to fall asleep, mostly because he is trying very hard - pun definitely intended - not to pleasure himself to thoughts of his best friend grinding up against him. It seems like a line he shouldn’t cross, yet the longer he’s lying on the bed turned on and unfulfilled, the more insane he is getting.

Finally, feeling desperate, he pulls out his laptop and does a quick search for some porn, because if he’s not thinking about Riley when he comes, then it’s okay. Just a guy letting off steam after a night of dancing where he doesn’t get lucky, not sleazing on his bestie. The problem is, when he searches for a video, he ends up choosing one at random and he couldn’t describe the girl later if he tried. All he can see and feel in his mind is Riley grinding against him in those maddening circles.

Right away, he starts by rubbing the head of his cock in the same way her hot center was during the movie. He’s positive that she could’ve made him come just like that, no matter how hard he’s tried to not think about it. Her tongue curled against his had made his whole body ache with want. And then, in the way fantasies do, he imagines her skirt riding up, underwear falling away, and his cock slipping right into her. He could practically hear her groan as she takes in his hard length. He imagines sucking her nipple, with one hand rubbing her clit as she rides him, her panting and moaning increasing with their tempo.

He thinks of Riley reaching down to touch him just before he fled and that was the end of it; he comes all over himself and makes a mess. He lies there feeling sated for a full minute before he realizes what he’s just done.

He looks up at the ceiling and says, “Fuck.”


	6. Chapter 6

A loud knock resounds around Riley’s bedroom the next morning, making her head pound. “Ugh, should’ve had more water last night,” she laments to herself. She realizes she's naked and should probably get dressed before letting Maxwell in (although it would be more fun to see his reaction if she didn't), so she calls out, “I’ll be right there, Maxwell!”

She dresses in her workout clothes to go running and pulls on her sneakers before opening the door to see Bertrand.

“Ah, Riley, you’re up. It’s almost breakfast time and I hadn’t heard from you yet. I take it Maxwell has been lax in his duties, surprise, surprise. Nevertheless, now that you’re up, I expect you in the kitchen in 15 minutes!” With that, he turns and heads down the hall towards Maxwell’s room, presumably to wake him up.

Now that she’s a little more awake, she looks at her phone and realizes it’s way past when they’d usually run. She wonders if Maxwell is hurting just as much as she is this morning. Since she has fifteen minutes, she takes ten of them to quickly shower and brush her teeth before getting dressed so she doesn’t feel so hungover. Excitement bubbles up inside of her the closer it gets to breakfast because she can’t wait to see Maxwell. She manages to make it down to the kitchen with a whole minute to spare.

Her plate of toast and eggs are waiting for her, but Maxwell is distinctly missing. Bertrand is working silently over the stove, making some more eggs. Her excitement falls and she picks at her food, her stomach not feeling all that great.

Bertrand sits next to her at the counter. “Now then, I will be quizzing you today on all of the noble families, since you’ve had a couple of days to review the note cards I gave you.” He tucks into his breakfast, all the while prattling on about what they’ve already taught her and all the things left to learn, but Riley tunes him out.

Instead, she thinks about last night and how amazing it felt to kiss Maxwell. Even though they said they shouldn’t do it again, she couldn’t help hoping they would, and soon.

“Lady Riley, is there something wrong with your breakfast?” Bertrand asks, cutting into her reverie.

“No, I guess I just don’t feel all that well this morning,” she admits. “Didn’t sleep well,” which isn’t exactly the case, but close enough.

“Should we call the family physician?” he asks, fretting.

“No, no, I’ll be fine,” she says. “Might just need to take it easy.”

He nods, curtly. “Very well. But you shall have to take it easy in the library while we go over what you’ve learned.”

“Okee dokee,” Riley says and heroically manages not to roll her eyes. She hopes Maxwell will be back from whatever errand he’s running in time for her lessons, because she can already tell it’s going to be a very long day.

Unfortunately, by dinner time, Riley hadn’t seen Maxwell all day until he appeared for dinner.

“Maxwell!” she exclaims when he comes into view. “What have you been up to?”

With careful nonchalance, Maxwell looks up from his phone at the table and shrugs. “Just doing this and that for the estate, trying to get prepared for next week.”

Riley’s eyebrows bunch together at the subdued response from Maxwell. “How are you feeling after last night?” she asks in a low tone so Bertrand can’t hear them.

“What?” Maxwell squeaks, looking up at her briefly and then back down at his phone.

“Ya know, after drinking all that wine? I still have a headache.”

“Oh,” he says, sounding faintly relieved. “I’m fine. Takes more than a couple of bottles of wine to take a Beaumont down!”

Riley smiles at the more typical Maxwell response, but he goes right back to staring at his phone and occasionally messaging someone. All through dinner, Riley painfully tries to make small talk and neither Beaumont brother seems interested in responding, so she gives up and eats a minuscule amount. Neither brother notices.

After dinner, Riley’s head is pounding and she’s looking forward to hanging out with Maxwell away from Bertrand. Maybe he’d loosen up if his brother wasn’t around. They leave the dining hall together and he turns in the direction of their bedrooms, phone in his hand the whole time. “Who are you chatting with so intently?” Riley asks him as they walk.

“No one, just a date I’m seeing soon,” he says in an offhand way while typing a response.

“You’re… going out?” Riley asks, her voice small. She thought they’d been connecting for the past week, especially after last night when they had such a hot and heavy make-out session.

“Yeah, just been awhile and I wanted to check out this new club that opened downtown, and Sandy was all for it,” he babbles.

“Sandy,” Riley mouths to herself in disbelief. “I see,” she says. “Have fun.” She gets to her door and doesn’t hesitate before opening it, going in, and slamming it behind her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maxwell cringes but keeps walking to his room. It’s for the best and Riley will see that when she’s back in Liam’s arms in a week. He has to do this for himself. It’s self-preservation.

When he gets to the club, Sandy, her long blonde hair in a braid down her back, is waiting exactly where she said she would be, by the potted plant out front. Her outfit barely exists…a scrap covering her top, a scrap covering her bottom, and a slight breeze could expose either. She is very handsy. And she loooooves to dance.

They drink and dance and drink and dance and finally she leans in and whispers, “Hey, sweetie, wanna come back to my place for our own little dance party?”

“Absolutely,” he whispers back, thrusting his hips against hers.

They drunkenly call a car to bring them back to her rather nice apartment, stumble into the bedroom, and start stripping down. Admittedly, it takes him a lot more time than her, considering the clothing disparity between them. He also gets rather distracted when a glorious set of boobs bounces in front of his face, but somehow they manage to get him naked, too. He dives between her legs, lapping and kissing Sandy, enjoying her grunts and curses of pleasure. Bringing her closer and closer to orgasm excites him and builds the anticipation for his own climax. When she finally goes off, howling in pleasure, his erection is pulsing and straining to be buried inside her.

He positions himself and asks, “Are you ready?”

“Fuck yeah,” she says and pulls him into her.

“Yessss,” Maxwell hisses, feeling her throbbing, hot core all around him.

They move together slightly out of sync, movements sloppy and uncoordinated. Maxwell works very hard to bring Riley-he shakes his head-SANDY over the edge again. When he finally feels her go over for the second time, he lets himself go, thrusting hard and fast until he comes with a shout. By a huge miracle, he manages not to say Riley’s name, but he is dismayed that she is the last thought in his mind before his release.

For a little while, he dozes next to Sandy, but not really cuddling - she’s resisted any attempt he’s made. Eventually, he gets up, finds his clothes, gets dressed, and slips out of the room without saying goodbye.

Maxwell went out tonight looking for release and a way to feel better, but all he feels is horrible. He feels like he’s betrayed Riley, even though he has no claim on her whatsoever and she has none on him, no matter how much either of them wanted things to be different. The whole ride home he tries to rationalize these feelings, but a depressive fog overwhelms him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After slamming the door behind her, Riley stands in the middle of her room, fuming. For a few minutes, she has no idea what to do with herself. Pacing around the room, she thinks about Maxwell out with some goddamn woman named Sandy while she’s stuck here, unable to even go out in public because of the stupid scandal and she feels like ripping all of her hair out. Then, she’s suddenly inspired. Since it’s still not that late, she goes through her phone and finds a hair salon that’s still open and able to take her that night. Riley promises them a big tip for staying this late to help her out. She uses a fake name, “Hana Beaumont,” and says she’s a cousin visiting, because of course they happen to know who Maxwell and Bertrand are. Then she calls up a taxi to take her over and sneaks out of the house.

Several hours later after her hair appointment, and a stop at a bar to get very drunk, she returns back to the Beaumont Estate, wearing a scarf over her head and giant sunglasses to avoid being recognized while out in public. She happens to pull up at the same time that Maxwell’s ride arrives to drop him off, and they both look at each other. He smells of alcohol and sex and she just smells like alcohol and sadness.

Silently, they walk together into the house and up to the hallway containing their rooms. Without looking at Maxwell, Riley goes into her room and shuts the door. Pacing a few steps over to the mirror, she unwinds her scarf and takes a look at the new Riley. Her once long and blonde hair is now cut shoulder length and dyed a beautiful blue ombré.

It doesn’t entirely erase her inner turmoil, but she feels beautiful, confident, and unstoppable with her hair like this. She doesn’t need Bertrand bitching at her or Maxwell Dances-with-Sandy Beaumont’s attention or affection. To hell with them. To hell with her friends who haven’t contacted her once in over a week. To hell with it all!


	7. Chapter 7

When Riley walks into the kitchen, hungover and feeling like complete ass, the last thing she needs is Bertrand’s shriek when he notices her hair.

“Lady Riley, what have you done?” he demands in a panicked voice. “You’ve ruined your beautiful hair! No one in the court will take you seriously now!”

Riley takes savage satisfaction in Bertrand’s distress. He’s been causing her nothing but distress since they came back to the estate, so now it’s his turn. “Bertrand, I really don’t give a flying fuck what anyone thinks about my hair. Least of all you.”

“But Riley, this will seriously set you back in the effort to clear your name! Unnaturally colored hair is UNHEARD OF at court! A noble wouldn’t be caught dead like this!” he exclaims in dismay.

“I’m not a noble at this moment.” She shrugs and picks at the eggs in front of her. “Do you have any coffee?”

“Haven’t you ever heard the phrase 'dress for the job you want, not the one you have?'” He goes to the coffee pot and fixes her a cup just the way she likes it, yelling at her the entire time. “If you want to be a noble you have to look like a noble! This is exactly the type of behavior we were trying to suppress before the engagement tour, not encourage!” He thunks the coffee mug onto the counter in front of her and crosses his arms. “Well? What do you have to say for yourself?”

Riley picks up her mug and takes a sip, ignoring him.

“We’re ruined!” Bertrand cries and walks away from her, throwing his arms up in the air. He begins cleaning the kitchen with vigor, perfectly silent except for the occasional muttering.

Riley notices Maxwell is nowhere to be found again this morning, which does nothing to improve her mood. She sips her coffee and eats as much breakfast as she can stomach before dumping her dishes in the sink where Bertrand is washing up and moving automatically to the library where she guesses she’ll have to read through note cards all day.

Looking around, she decides to sit on a love seat so she can sprawl out after grabbing the note cards from the table in the middle of the room. Robotically, she reads through them all, trying desperately to retain some of the knowledge.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour into studying and she’s still not retaining more than a few facts per card and Bertrand hasn’t shown up to quiz her or push her or criticize her, and she’s actually starting to feel lonely. It would help if Maxwell would show up, but she’s not sure how she’d react to his presence right now, anyway. She does wonder what his reaction to her hair will be when he sees it.

Another hour into studying and she’s having a hard time keeping her eyes open. They slip shut every few minutes and she has to pop them back open. After awhile, they drift shut and she slips off to sleep.

She’s startled awake an indeterminate amount of time later by Maxwell’s shout. “Oh my GOD, Riley! Your hair looks FIERCE!”

“Ahh!” she yells as she sits up straight in her chair. “What the hell, Maxwell? You scared the fuck out of me.”

He looks sheepish. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

She sighs. “It’s fine.” After a few minutes of neither of them speaking she asks, “So, what are you doing here?”

Maxwell scratches the back of his head while he struggles to figure out the right thing to say. “Bertrand wanted me to check on you,” he settles on.

Riley frowns. “Guess it’s good that you did, since apparently I fell asleep. Looks I’ve failed him once again.”

“Yeeeaaah, he didn’t seem too happy about the hair sitch,” Maxwell nods. “I mean, I think it looks AMAAAAZING, but I’ve always had much better taste than Bertrand.”

Riley shrugs and looks down at her note cards. “Well, you’ve checked on me, you can go give him a status report to let him know how horrible I’m doing.”

“Awe, don’t let Bertrand get you down. I know you’re doing your best!” he encourages her.

She feels awkward and unsure of where she stands with Maxwell after last night. Normally, she’d be happy about his reassurance, but right now she’s wondering if he really means it or if he’s just the total opposite of Bertrand who can only say critical and mean things. “Thanks, Maxwell,” she says, but her voice is tired.

“Riley,” Maxwell says and then hesitates.

She looks at him but doesn’t say anything.

“I’m really sorry.” He looks down at his shoes.

“For what?” she asks, her voice still flat.

He looks back up at her. “For being such a butt head yesterday.”

She snorts a humorless laugh. “That’s one way to put it.”

“I shouldn’t have gone out and left you behind,” he says. “I know you’ve been feeling cooped up…”

She rolls her eyes. “Did you have fun?”

He purses his lips. “No. I was being really selfish, but I also thought I was doing the right thing, because I can’t let myself…I can’t…” He screws up his face and balls up his fists. “I can’t let myself feel this way.”

“What way?” she asks, her heart beating faster.

He sighs. “ANY way. Look, we’re going to get you through the rest of this week, go on the Engagement Tour, clear your name, and have a blast doing it. How does that sound?”

Riley’s hope falls slightly. “Sounds great,” she says as cheerfully as she can muster.

“How about this. I’ll quiz you for a while and then we can watch a movie to unwind? Just us?” He looks at her with puppy dog eyes.

As if she’d actually say no to him. “Of course,” she says, her voice going soft with fondness. “No musicals this time, though.”

“We have lots of other stuff. Are you in the mood for anything in particular?”

“Maybe horror,” she says, thinking that should be the complete opposite mood that Moulin Rouge set.

“We have some time to think about it,” Maxwell says. “For now, let’s get to quizzing!”

Riley groans, but cooperates.

By the time they’ve spent an hour studying, Riley is starting to get a lot more answers correct than wrong. “Enough. I’ve had enough. I can’t cram anything else in my brain today,” Riley says, collapsing sideways on the love seat.

“You did good, Riley! This is the stack you got right and it’s much bigger than the stack you missed!” Maxwell sounds genuinely excited and proud of her and it makes her smile involuntarily, the first real smile all day. “There’s that Riley smile I love so much.” Maxwell’s face falters for a second when he realizes what he said, but then grins wider to try and cover it.

Riley looks at her phone and realizes it’s late afternoon already and her stomach growls loudly.

“Someone’s hungry!” Maxwell says. “If you go to the movie room, you can pick something out, and I’ll bring some food over.”

He bounds off for the kitchen and Riley shakes her head with a smile.

She feels a lot better after his apology and working with him on these damn Noble family flash cards.  She walks with a bit of a spring in her step to the home movie theatre. Looking through the titles, she finds the horror section and then has to decide between way too many good movies. Eventually she chooses The Exorcist because it’s a pretty long movie and she hasn’t seen it in a few years. Can’t get further away from a romantic plot than this one, she thinks to herself. Since Maxwell isn’t back yet, she pokes around the room and finds a fully stocked bar, including an espresso machine, keurig, and teapot.

“This place is ridiculous,” she mutters to herself, but takes advantage of the espresso machine and the stocked bar to make a Baileys cappuccino. One sip has her sighing happily. She brings it with her to the same love seat they sat last time and puts her cup down on the table, this time sitting where Maxwell sat before.

Speaking of, Maxwell bustles into the room with a cart full of finger foods. “I brought us a movie picnic!” he exclaims proudly, wheeling the cart to a stop in front of her.

There are plates of cheese and crackers, fruits and vegetables, sandwiches and buttered rolls.

“Go ahead and take anything you want! I’ll start the movie.” He picks it up and shudders. “Did you really have to pick the scariest movie of all time?” he asks her, heading toward the entertainment center.

“Yeeees,” she calls back to him, settling into her seat with a plate full of a little bit of everything from the cart. She eats and sips at her coffee, starting to feel a lot better.

Maxwell comes back, starts the movie and fixes himself a plate before sitting next to Riley on the love seat, but as far away as he possibly can get. Riley sighs at this, but decides to swing her feet up into the space between and let them slide slightly under Maxwell. He squirms a little, but doesn’t ask her to stop, so she settles in for the movie.

They watch the intro with Father Merrin at an archaeological dig site in Northern Iraq. The very first frightening moment, when the carriage nearly runs the priest over, Maxwell nearly leaps into Riley’s lap. She quickly drops her feet to the floor so she can hold him more easily.

“Are you sure we should watch this?” Riley asks him in a teasing voice. “This isn’t even the scariest part!”

She can tell he’s blushing even in the dark. “I just wasn’t expecting such a loud noise already. I’ll be fine.”

He sits back up, but Riley notices he doesn’t move back to his side of the love seat.

The further they get into the movie, the more Maxwell jumps and hides in Riley’s shoulder, to the point where eventually he just stays there, tilting his head towards the scene or away from it depending on what was happening. One of his hands is gripping Riley’s thigh every time he’s scared and it’s making Riley unable to focus on the movie, even when highly disturbing things are happening. All she can think about is Maxwell’s hand and how close it is to somewhere much more fun to touch…

When Regan spider-walks down the stairs backwards and spits up blood, Maxwell positively shrieks and this time does end up in Riley’s lap. She wraps her arms around him, rubbing his back in circles while he cowers. “Are you really that scared, Maxwell?” she asks him.

He looks up at her with wide eyes. He nods, but then winks. “I don’t want to be possessed by Captain Howdy!” he says, voice quivering cartoonishly.

Riley giggles. “You’re such a goof, Maxwell. Never change.”

“Yes, ma’am!” he salutes her. “You’ll protect me from the demons, right?” He falls back to her side but snuggles up to her shoulder.

“What if I AM the demon?” she asks, looking down into his face.

“Nah, not you. You’re a being of pure light, happiness, and friendship!” He boops her on the nose with his index finger.

“Friendship. Totally,” Riley mutters, rolling her eyes.

“You are my best friend, Riley. Seriously,” Maxwell says, looking right into her eyes, the most serious she’s ever seen him.

“You’re my best friend, too,” she says, grabbing his hand. “I care about you so much, Maxwell.”

“I care about you.”

His seriousness is starting to freak her out a little.

On the screen, Regan spews pea soup at the priest and Maxwell jumps. “AHHHHH!” he yells, hiding his face again.

“You are hilarious right now,” Riley says to him. “Are you sure you want to keep watching?”

“Y-yes, you wanted to watch, we’ll watch to the end.”

For the rest of the movie, Maxwell stays glued to Riley’s side and hides his face in her shoulder. At this point, he honestly can’t tell if he’s scared of the movie of if he’s just addicted to the way Riley smells. He tries to force himself to only think friendship thoughts around her, but it’s so hard to resist kissing her when she smells so delicious. Instead of kissing her, he focuses on breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth to steady his nerve and soak in as much of her scent as possible.

For Riley’s part, she can’t concentrate on the end of the movie, which is fine. She’s seen it enough times to know what happens. But Maxwell, pressed all up her side, occasionally gasping in a breath right against her neck, is driving her crazy. She wants to push him back against the cushions and have her way with him and it’s proving extremely difficult to keep her wits about her. There isn’t even any alcohol to blame this time, the sip or two of her cappuccino hardly enough to even get her buzzed.

They’re not quite at the end when the door to the theatre bangs open and the lights turn on. “What on earth do you think you’re doing?” Bertrand asks them.

At the sound, they fly apart, but they both stare at the elder Beaumont, alarmed. “Watching a movie,” Maxwell says, gesturing to the disturbing images on the screen.

“You’re supposed to be fencing right now!"  Bertrand looks at the screen.  "What in heaven's name is this garbage?  Turn it off!  Let’s go, get moving!” he shouts at them.

Reluctantly, the two start gathering up their plates on the cart and Maxwell takes it to the kitchen while Bertrand helps Riley get ready for the next lesson.

 

Many hours later, after dinner and even more flash card quizzes, when everyone was supposed to be in bed, Riley hears a quiet knock on the door. She gets out of bed and opens it slowly so it doesn’t squeak. “Maxwell?” she asks when she sees him.

“I…I couldn’t sleep after the movie, and you were really comfy that one time we snuggled, and…I was wondering if I could come sleep here with you?”

He looks so embarrassed and Riley’s heart clenches. “Yeah, come on.” She grabs his hand and leads him to the bed. When they both crawl in, she wraps her arms around him like she’s cuddling a teddy bear.

They settle in together and snuggle in the quiet. After a few moments, Maxwell whispers, “Thank you, Riley.”

“Any time, Maxwell,” Riley whispers back, squeezing him with her arms.

They fall asleep together, and no bad dreams plague them the rest of the night.


	8. Chapter 8

Morning dawns and Maxwell wakes with his alarm and tries to extricate himself from where he is caught in Riley’s firm grip. She managed to twist around him so much during the night it’s hard to tell where one of them begins and the other ends.

“Riley, I gotta get up before Bertrand comes looking for us,” he whispers, trying to wake her up.

She grips him tighter and makes noises of discontent.

“Riiiileeeeey,” he whines, wriggling and again trying to escape her grip. “Do you want him to kill us both?”

She sighs and rolls away from him, puling a pillow over her head.

Maxwell chuckles. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. Get dressed so we can go running again!”

She throws the pillow at his head and he ducks out of the room laughing.

“Maxwell Beaumont, what on earth are you doing leaving Riley’s room at this hour in the morning?” Bertrand demands, walking up the hall, already pristinely dressed for the day.

Maxwell’s amusement disappears in a second and he tries to think fast. “I was just trying to wake her up for a run.”

“How many times have I told you that you must get dressed before waking Lady Riley? It’s not proper to wake her while you’re wearing your pajamas!” Bertrand walks away muttering to himself. “Honestly, you’d think he was raised in a barn the way he disregards common etiquette.”

Maxwell sighs in relief and goes off to get dressed for their jog.

While they’re outside running, Riley asks, “Okay, seriously, why do we have to keep running laps around the estate?”

“It's just like that thing they do in movies, you know? Like when you're getting ready for something?” he replies with a big grin.

“Maxwell,” she says, disapproval written all over her face.

“Okay, honestly, I go running every morning anyway, and I wanted some company.” He takes a sip of water. “Besides, we're having fun together, right?”

“Yeah, yeah…” she rolls her eyes, but keeps on running. Any moment spent with Maxwell is fun, even if jogging sucks.

After breakfast, however, Riley wishes they were in a movie so she could learn everything through a simple montage, because she was quite tired from a nonstop barrage of information for ten days in a row. If she isn’t jogging, she’s dancing, and if she isn’t dancing, she’s fencing. There are books upon books that she has to at least skim and gain a cursory understanding of, more noble families to learn than she could shake a stick at, and etiquette rules that seemed to become more elaborate just to be annoying.

And worst of all, Bertrand starts bringing up King Liam at every possible moment.

“Riley, if it ever comes up, you should definitely attempt to engage Liam in a fencing duel. You’ve got a flair for it, and it will impress him greatly!” he tells her after she manages to win against both Bertrand and Maxwell twice. “It’s also a chance for you to interact in an innocent way.”

“Don’t forget to maintain eye contact with Liam while you’re dancing and it’s appropriate, but try not to look at him too much otherwise. We want people to think you perfectly respect their engagement,” he says after she’s danced with Maxwell through every one they’ve learned. Eye contact with Maxwell is easy, but thinking of staring into Liam’s adoring eyes makes her feel queasy.

“Once we’ve cleared your name, and Liam is able to propose to you instead, Riley, you will become queen. A queen must act dignified in front of the public at all times, so no matter how much the spirit moves you, you must not participate in public displays of affection, unless they’re perfectly chaste,” he tells her while she’s hugging Maxwell after a particularly long quiz on Cordonian’s nobles she mostly aced. “And hugging others should be kept to a strict minimum unless they fall under the following guidelines.” He clears his throat and goes on to list them, and Riley tunes him out immediately.

Each and every time she hears Liam’s name, it feels like a stab in the chest. This whole time, she’s been trying to focus on fitting in at court more than trying to win Liam’s affections. She knows she has his heart, even if he did choose Madeleine for some reason. She had faith that he will have an explanation that makes sense when she finally gets to see him, even if she doesn’t want to hear it. The thoughts she’s been trying to repress are trying to break through her subconsciousness, but she forces them down every time.

Of course, this backfires later that night.

Because she’s so tired, she heads to her room right after dinner.

“Are you sure you don’t want to hang out?” Maxwell asks at her door.

Riley gives him the best approximation of a smile she can muster, then throws her arms around him. He catches her, as he always does, and holds her tight. The hug lasts a few long breaths between them, longer than most friends would deem acceptable. Finally, they pull apart.

“I need to be by myself, I think,” she replies.

He nods in understanding. “Yes, ma’am. Sleep well.” He bows to her and goes on his way.

She takes a bubble bath to relax herself completely before putting herself to bed where she hopes she’ll wake up the next morning with a much better attitude.

Instead, Riley falls into a restless sleep, tossing and turning as dreams plague her mind.

At first, she’s walking quickly through ball after ball, constantly looking behind her with Liam in pursuit, showering her with compliments and opening his heart to her. With all her might, she tries to run away, but instead of going anywhere, she ends up running straight into a cage where Bertrand turns the key in the lock.

“I’m doing this for your own good, young lady!” he says, taking the key and swallowing it. She tries to scream at him to let her out, but he walks away.

Soon, Liam appears in the cage with Riley. “You look absolutely enchanting. You’ve changed my life,” he says, and her clothes start falling off.

“He says only a few nice things and your clothes come off?” Maxwell jeers from the sidelines.

She shakes her head, wanting to speak, but having no voice.

“I love you, Riley. You’re my everything,” Liam says, approaching her slowly. He goes down on one knee and holds out the most beautiful ring she’s ever seen. He asks the question, and she lifts her left hand to contemplate saying yes and notices there’s a ring already there, glistening in the sun that’s suddenly come out. Liam’s face falls and Riley’s heart lurches. The ring she wears turns to thorns that dig into her flesh. She cries out, wanting to rip it off, but they’ve taken root. When she looks up, it’s Liam who is controlling the thorns with an outstretched hand and a pained look on his face. He looks like Riley’s words have turned to thorns around his heart.

Riley wakes up ever so slightly and then falls back into a dream, this time with Liam chasing her through the hedge maze. He catches her, and it’s mostly a memory of when they slept together before the Coronation ceremony, her desperate bid to make herself fall in love with him. At the time, it felt good to be close to him, even if love wasn’t the exact feeling she experienced. In this dream, though, every negative part of that night feels amplified. When she felt her doubts back then, it was easy to push them down in the face of Liam’s kindness, and now it feels like she’s betraying herself and Liam with every intimate touch.

“I love you so much, Riley. You’re the one I look up to, you’re the one I want more than anything to please,” he tells her, and her stomach rolls with nausea, but she can’t stop. It goes on and on, far longer than it should, and with every passing second she feels more like screaming.

Riley manages to wrench herself out of that dream by rolling over to her other side, but she slips into yet another dream. Back in the hedge maze, Maxwell is naked, tied to the swing so he can’t move. Riley is tied up so that she’s suspended just above him, her legs held out by more ropes. Liam is the one who can control whether or not Riley will be lowered onto Maxwell’s straining erection and she’s now desperate for it.

“To think, this is what it’s come to. You brought me the woman of my dreams to compete for my hand and then win her away from me,” Liam says to Maxwell. He strikes him across the back with a whip.

Maxwell whimpers, fruitlessly trying to force his hips up as Riley cries out for him.

Just as Liam’s about to press the button that would allow her to fall onto Maxwell, she wakes up again, only to fall into yet another dream.

Again, she’s running through the hedge maze. This time she can’t find anyone. After much longer than it would in real life, she still hasn’t found the center of the maze either. She calls for Liam, but he’s not there. She calls for Maxwell, and finally finds him, the middle of the hedge maze coming into view at last. He’s driven a sword through Liam’s heart and Liam grasps at a horrified looking Maxwell, who has tears in his eyes. When Liam breathes his last breath, he falls to the ground. Maxwell turns to Riley and just as he reaches for her, a sword slices through him from behind. Maxwell collapses and Riley sees Bertrand standing there, ripping the sword out of his younger brother’s back.

Finally, she wakes up screaming.


	9. Chapter 9

No matter how many times Bertrand bangs on her door, Riley refuses to come out. “Go away!” she shouts at him for the fourth time in as many hours since waking. She hears him talking to someone, presumably Maxwell who hasn’t been around all day up to this point, and then there’s another knock on the door. “I told you to go away, Bertrand!”

“It’s Maxwell,” he calls through the door, sounding as chipper as ever. “Can I come in?”

She sighs into her pillow and finally says, “Fine. But NOT BERTRAND.”

There’s some more conversation where she can hear Maxwell’s pleading tone and Bertrand’s stubborn and commanding response. Finally, she hears Bertrand walk away in a huff and the door opens to reveal Maxwell.

“What’s the matter, little blossom?” he asks, bringing the chair from her desk next to her bed and sitting down.

“I just can’t today,” she says, her voice taut with emotion.

“This isn’t like you,” Maxwell says with a frown. “What happened to your can-do attitude? We both know you’re going to clear your name, kick some ass, and take over the crown from Madeleine, so what’s got you down?”

Riley’s face holds a mixture of fear and sadness and a tear rolls down her cheek. “What if I don’t want to be queen?” she whispers, her voice thick and cracking.

Seeing her so distraught shatters Maxwell’s heart and he rushes to her side, gathering her into a hug. “Riley, I’m so sorry for pushing you so hard if this isn’t what you want. I…I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought you wanted to be with Liam?” he asks, confused, but trying to be comforting at the same time.

She sniffles and leans into Maxwell’s shoulder. “I like Liam a lot. He’s an amazing guy and he’s been nothing but absolutely sweet and caring towards me, but by the end of the social season, I felt my heart pulling towards someone else. I even…God, Maxwell, I don’t know if I should admit this, but I slept with Liam that night to try and convince myself that he’s the one.” She let’s out a sob. “He was amazing, Maxwell, but I felt so wrong. He loves me So. Much. Not loving him the same makes me feel sick to my stomach.”

Maxwell’s mind is thrown into utter turmoil by this news. For one thing, Riley means a lot to him now, to the point that her feelings mean more to him than restoring House Beaumont to its former glory. But Bertrand would be utterly broken by this news. And who was it that Riley is falling for? He thinks about all the flirting and kissing they’ve done, but shakes the thoughts away. He’s quiet for so long that Riley grows anxious.

“Maxwell?” she asks in a tiny voice.

“Yeah?” he responds, looking down into her tear stained face.

“Are you mad at me?” She sniffles again.

“No way!” he nearly shouts and she flinches. He lowers his voice. “No way am I mad at you. I’m conflicted because I’m supposed to do what’s right for House Beaumont, but I don’t want to push you into anything you don’t want. We do have to endure this Engagement Tour, however; it’s our only chance of clearing your name. Also, even if you don’t really want to be with Liam, it would be bad for your image to be seen with someone else so soon after you reappear in public. When you clear your name, you can choose whatever path you want.”

Riley takes all this in and chews it over for a bit. She doesn’t want to harm Liam’s reputation at all, that’s for sure, but without knowing how long it will take to clear her name, she’s not sure she can wait that long to declare her love for the one she’s come to care for the most.

“I’m sorry I didn’t realize sooner how hard this has been on you,” Maxwell says, rubbing a hand up and down her arm.

“I was trying to hide it. I thought I had my emotions under control,” she admits. “I’m so tired of fighting my brain.”

Maxwell frowns, trying to think of a way to make this better. “Do you still have your bathing suit from the social season?” he asks.

She tilts her head up to him and squints. “I think so. Why?”

“Put it on, throw on a nightgown or something and I’ll come get you in a minute,” he says and then dashes off.

Shaking her head, Riley gets up to put on her bathing suit, not at all sure this was going to be a good idea. Being around Maxwell with so little clothing could pose a problem, especially while she’s trying to hold back. The more she’s around him, lately, the more she wants to be with him all the time. She pulls on the beach sarong and waits.

Maxwell opens the door when she says come in, and holds out his arm. He’s dressed in swim trunks and a black t-shirt with flip-flops. “M’lady, allow me to show you to a spa of pure relaxation.”

“That sounds wonderful,” she says.

They come to a beautiful room with soothing blue walls, a hot tub that seats two, a massage table, and shelves of various massage oils. The hot tub is on and bubbling and he hands Riley something brightly colored around the size of a baseball.

“What’s this?” she asks

“Bath bomb!” he says, grinning. “You’ll love it. Go ahead and get comfy, I’ll join you in a minute.” He buzzes around the room, preparing various things and leaves Riley to climb into the hot tub.

She takes off her sarong and hangs it on a hook nearby, then daintily climbs into the water, leaving the bath bomb to the side for now. Instantly, she’s transported to relaxation heaven. “Aaaaaah,” she sighs, feeling the least stressed she’s felt since before the coronation. Her eyes slip closed and her focus narrows down to the bubbling sound of the hot tub jets.

A few minutes later, she feels Maxwell get into the tub at the other end. “Would you like me to wash your hair?” he asks in a low voice that makes Riley shiver despite the warm temperature of the water.

“God, yeah, that sounds amazing,” she says and spins around so her back is to him. Then she dunks her head back so just her hair gets wet and she looks up into Maxwell’s gorgeous eyes. The expression on his face in unreadable, especially from this angle, and she wonders, for about the millionth time, just what Maxwell’s thinking in that pretty head of his. She comes up out of the water and looks at him over her shoulder. “How do you want me?”

Maxwell’s cheeks heat up slightly, but instead of answering, he positions her how he wants so that he’s kneeling behind her. He takes some shampoo and starts lathering it into her hair, using his finger tips to massage her scalp thoroughly, releasing all the tension she’s been carrying.

“Maxwell, this feels amaaaazing,” she says, feeling her whole body relax.

“Good,” is all he says, and continues the massage until her hair’s been washed completely. “Rinse?” he requests and she ducks back under the water, looking up at him again.

This time his expression is a lot more mellow, like giving the massage relaxed him as much as it relaxed her. She smiles up at him and he returns the smile, reaching out to poke her on the nose. Rising from the water, Riley turns to face Maxwell. “That felt unbelievably good,” she says.

“I’m glad I could help,” he says. “I could continue the massage, if you’d like. I took a class on back massage.”

“Do I have to get out of the hot tub?” Riley asked.

“Nope, stay right here.” He climbs out of the tub, trailing water on the floor without a care.

While he gets out, Riley drops the bath bomb into the tub and watches it fizz and spin in the water, shooting rainbow colors all over the place. “This is so pretty!” she exclaims. “It smells really good, too. Citrusy.”

From the shelves near the massage table, he grabs a particular bottle and walks back over. When he’s situated behind Riley, he brushes all her hair up into a loose messy bun with a scrunchee he’d brought just for this occasion. Then he takes some of the massage oil, tips it in his hand, and rubs it around to warm it up before placing his hands at her shoulders. He moved his hands in circles all the way down her back, making her moan and sigh. He works around the strap of her bikini, but he could tell it was annoying Riley every time he passed under it.

“Maxwell, we’re best friends, right?” Riley asks matter-of-factly.

“Of course!” Maxwell responds.

“Do you mind if I take my bikini top off for this?” she asks, her voice small, but trying to be confident.

He gulps. “Uh, yeah! I mean, no, I don’t mind. I mean, if you want to,” he agrees, bobbing his head up and down. Think friend thoughts, think friend thoughts, he tells himself.

“Do you want to undo the knot for me?” she asks.

“Yes, ma’am!” His eyes move heavenward and in his head asks the gods whether this is punishment or reward for some past deed he doesn’t remember doing. Then he pulls the string and the bikini straps fall forward. He can’t see anything, but knowing her breasts are exposed to the air they’re sharing is making fireworks go off in his brain. Maxwell takes a deep breath and adds a little more oil to his hands. With careful movements, he rubs his hands all over her back in one, uninterrupted swoop.

Riley groans and hangs her head so far down her nose is almost touching the water. “Don’t you dare ever stop,” she says.

“Yes ma’am!” he says again, cheerfully, rubbing with even more enthusiasm.

The more he rubs, the more Riley moans unabashedly loud, and it’s seriously messing with Maxwell’s powers of concentration. He keeps catching his hands sliding a little too far past the edge of her back and trying to curl around to her front. Half of his brain is imagining the kinds of sounds he could coax out of her if he could get his hands on her breasts, and the other half of his brain is trying to reel the first half in with only moderate success. The reasonable half was having an especially hard time keeping a grip on reality when it seems like every time his hands nearly slip too far forward, she arches her back as if to encourage it. It strokes his ego (if not what he’d really like stroked) to know he has her reacting on only her base instincts from his massage, but he also can’t shake the feeling that anyone in his position could get this reaction from her. He’s nothing special.

Eventually his hands move to the small of her back and he’s really digging his thumbs into the knots he finds there. The surge of arousal Riley experiences blows her away. She realizes she’s close to orgasm without touching herself at all, and the noise she makes sounds like it, too. Under the bubbles of the hot tub and bath bomb, she surreptitiously pushes her fingers against her clit and pushes her back into Maxwell’s touches.

“Are you okay, Riley?” Maxwell asks, still rubbing, but not as hard.

“Fuck, Maxwell, I’m so beyond okay,” she gasps. “Rub harder!”

Maxwell’s face flames bright red, but Riley can’t see it with her head bent towards the water. “Yes, ma’am,” he says a third time, his voice much deeper than usual.

By some miracle, he hasn’t popped a boner yet, but every time she makes a demand or groans so sexily, he wants nothing more than to please her in every way possible. Preferably with his tongue and no clothes in the way… Nope! Not thinking of that. He tries to remember if he sent the latest payment to Savannah or not. Thinking of the mother of his nephew was a good dose of cold water to his brain, especially since it inevitably led to thinking about naked Bertrand, and that was DEFINITELY an ice shower for any remaining sexy thoughts.

Maxwell stops massaging her before she can actually orgasm, and she tries not to let her disappointment show on her face. “I’m getting kinda pruny. I guess I should get out,” she says.

Though she’s trying not to show any negative emotion, Maxwell can sense slight melancholy. “Before we do, did you want you talk about what’s got you so down?” he asks. “Is there anyway I can fix things?”

She sighs and leans back into his chest. His arms come around her stomach to hold her steady and he rests his chin on her head. “I feel trapped here right now. Every day has been nothing but grueling training for a week and a half, I haven’t heard from any of our other friends, and every minute of every day I’m being told I have to do everything in my power to attract a King I’m not even sure I want to marry.” She takes a deep, shuddering breath, trying not to cry anymore. “I just want to be able to live.”

Ideas ranging from sky diving to swimming in a pool full of chocolate run rampant through his head, but he finally settles on something that might work out well. “How about this? Tomorrow night, you can put on something dressy, but not necessary eye-catching since we’re going undercover, you can wear a wig, and I’ll take you out on the town!”

She turns around to look at him, dislodging his hands. “Really? We can do that?”

His eyes widen when he’s suddenly exposed to a bare breasted Riley, but he snaps his eyes up to hers. Riley’s excitement is palpable and Maxwell bounces his head. “Yes! We’ll totally do it! I have to do a little research,” he says, jumping out of the tub. “Don’t forget your top!” he calls, pulling a towel around himself and looking anywhere but at Riley. They dry off and he walks her back to her room. With a gigantic grin, Maxwell says, “I can’t wait to sneak out with my bestie tomorrow!”

“Me either!” she squeals.

“Do you think you feel up to whatever Bertrand’s got planned next?” he asks.

She sighs. “I think so. Thank you for taking such good care of me, Maxwell.” She kisses him on the cheek.

He walks off to his room, grinning like a fool, and she goes to her room to prepare for whatever training Bertrand is hitting her with next.


	10. Chapter 10

All day, Riley does her absolute best to concentrate, but her absolute best is not nearly enough to contain her excitement for later that night. Dancing was the one thing she could concentrate on, because it involved looking into Maxwell’s eyes, but everything involving sitting down and memorizing facts was impossible. 

“Why are the two of you behaving like children the night before Christmas?” Bertrand demands of them after one too many disruptions from Maxwell. 

“We’re almost there!” Riley says, bouncing in her seat. “We’ll be back at court, and we’ll clear my name soon!”

“That’s all well and good, but in order for that to be useful to installing you as Queen of Cordonia, you must be accepted into the court with open arms, which will only happen if you STUDY!” He gives them disapproving looks and once again they try to calm down. 

Bertrand finally releases them just before dinner, and they both skip off to their rooms to get ready. 

Riley opens her closet and pulls out a simple black dress with an A line hem. If they’re going out, dancing is almost certainly on the agenda, and if she can’t wear one of her more sparkly dresses, then she absolutely has to have one that twirls. At the mirror in her bathroom, she quickly does some basic makeup and pulls her hair back into a tight bun to accommodate the wig she would apparently be wearing. 

Maxwell knocks on the door and waits for her to open it. He walks in with two wigs, one blonde and one black. “Which do you think?”

Looking at her all black outfit, she chooses the black wig. Wrestling with it for a few minutes, she finally gets it situated and looking good. 

“Hmm, I was trying to make you look less noticeable, but now I’m not sure that’s possible. You look like a sexy secret agent.” 

Riley grins and does a little twirl. 

Maxwell playfully growls. “I’m ready for my orders, Agent Sexy.”

She giggles. “Do you think we’ll get away with this? I don’t want to cause any problems for Liam or you and Bertrand.”

“Don’t you fret, my little Blossom,” Maxwell assures her. “Leave everything to me!”

“Alright, I’m leaving my fate in your hands. Lets do this!” She pumps a fist in the air. 

“Yesssss.” He takes her arm in his and leads her to the limo outside. “Are you hungry?” he asks when they’re settled in the vehicle. 

Riley’s stomach growls and she realizes it’s nearly dinner time and she’s barely been able to eat today. “Umm, you could say that.” 

“We’ll have dinner first, then.” He opens the divider to talk to the driver and then sits near Riley. 

“I’m very curious where you might be taking us,” she says. His secretiveness makes it seem like they’re going somewhere extremely exclusive, but when they arrive, it’s a simple, homey Italian restaurant. “Oh, this looks great!” she says with surprise. 

“We need carbs tonight. We’re going to dance ALL NIGHT LONG!” he declares. “Let’s eat!” 

They share delicious pasta and wine and talk for almost two hours. Riley doesn’t think about returning to court at all in that time. “This was amazing, Maxwell. Thank you!”

“You’re most welcome! I think you’re going to love this club we’re going to. Tonight they’re doing a multi-decade dance night! I think they’re playing dance hits from the 80s to now. I can’t WAAAIIIT!” 

“That sounds amazing!” she says. “We’ll be right back at the middle school dance if they play lots of late 90s music.” 

“Yeah, but back in middle school, we couldn’t DRINK!” They get to the club and Maxwell leads them directly past the line, flashing a VIP card. Right away, Maxwell sets up a tab at the bar and orders a Sex on the Beach. “What do you want?” he asks. 

“I’ll have the same,” she says, and he delightedly orders her one. 

They clink their drinks together and toast, “To fun and freedom!”

A song with a sexy, driving beat comes on and they both perk up at the same time. “Chug!” Riley directs, and she starts sipping her drink as fast as she can. Then it turns into a race to see who can finish faster, and RIley wins by a sip. “YES!” She does a victory dance and then grabs his hand. “It’s time to REALLY dance,” she says. 

Soon they’re surrounded by bodies dancing to the thumping beat. There’s just barely room to move around and Maxwell and Riley both secretly enjoy the excuse to dance very close to each other. At first they’re about a space apart, swaying and grooving to the music. Then, the crush of people moves in, and they get a little closer, arms raised and moving their bodies in a rhythm together without actually touching. 

There’s heat and electricity building between them, even though they’re both trying so hard to deny it. When the song comes to an end, Maxwell takes the distraction to pull apart from Riley. “More drinks!” he shouts, and she follows him. 

On the way to the bar, Riley tries to calm herself down, but it’s hard to do when she was just dancing so close, but not close enough with Maxwell. He may not have taken his shirt off around her, but she could feel how hard and sexy his chest is, and she wants the chance to rub up against those washboard abs like a very dirty girl. 

“What do you want?” Maxwell asks over the music. 

“Shots! Shots, shots, shots!” she chants, hoping that more alcohol will loosen their inhibitions. 

“ALRIIIIIGHT!” he cheers and orders a few rounds of shots. They sit at the bar. “Are we just downing these?” he asks. 

“Maybe we should take it slow? OH! Let’s play a game!” she says, dancing on her barstool. “But what should we play?”

“Two truths and a lie?” Maxwell suggests, shrugging. “That, or Never Have I Ever…Your choice!”

“Oh, Never Have I Ever! Who goes first?” Riley squints at Maxwell and says, “How bout you?”

“Alright, Never Have I Ever competed against other ladies to win the hand of a prince,” Maxwell says, looking far too pleased with himself. “Drink up!”

Riley gives him a withering look but takes a sip of one of the shots. She shakes her head back and forth. “Woo! That is strong!” She takes a deep breath and considers Maxwell. “Fine, Never Have I Ever sponsored a girl to try and win the hand of a prince!”

Maxwell grins and downs his shot. “Now we’re tied!”

“Wow, Maxwell, the shots aren’t going to last many rounds if you keep that up!” She laughs. “And it’s your turn to go!” she nudges him. 

“Never Have I Ever been in an actual relationship,” he announces.

“Never?” Riley asks, sounding sad. She takes a drink. 

“Nope. I mean, I’ve been WITH people, ya know, just usually one night is all anyone can stand me for,” he says, but laughs it off. “It ain’t no thang!”

“Hmph. All those people are dumb, then. I’ve been hanging out with you for months now, and I LOVE hanging out with you,” she says, feeling like he needs to understand how lovable he is. 

“I like hanging out with you, too!” he says, grinning from ear to ear. “It’s your turn to go, though.” 

“Hmm,” she ponders for a moment. “I guess this is going to be a shot in the dark...Never Have I Ever gotten a tattoo.”

Maxwell glares at her. “Who have you been talking to!?” He downs his shot and continues to look at her suspiciously.

“You have a tattoo!? Where! What is it?” she asks excitedly. 

“I’m not allowed to tell anyone,” he says, looking at his empty shot glass dejectedly. 

“What!? Why not? I won’t tell anyone,” she insists. 

“Bertrand might actually kill me,” Maxwell laughs. “He told me I’m not allowed to show anyone.”

A light dawns in Riley’s mind. “Is THAT why you never take your shirt off?” she asks with her eyes wide. 

Maxwell’s mouth drops open and he stares. “How did you figure that out!”

“I’m a good detective!” she winks. “So I know WHERE it is, roughly, but I need to know WHAT it is!” 

Maxwell grins at her enthusiasm. “Maybe some day. But definitely not here.”

Riley gives him a heated look. “By the end of this week, I’m going to know what it is. Just a warning.”

He laughs nervously. “Uh-huh. Well, anyway, Never Have I Ever waitressed in a bar!”

She downs the shot and wags a finger at him. “This game has been depressingly tame so far. All I’ve learned about you is that you’ve definitely had sex at some point, but I don’t even know if it was with men or women or both! I thought this game was going to get juic-eh!”

“Heh heh,” Maxwell rubs the back of his neck. “Right! It’s your turn now.” 

She squints at him. “Never Have I Ever had sex with a woman.”

He downs his shot. 

“Yay! I learned something new!” She cheers and nearly slides off her stool. “Whoa.” With a hand on the bar, she slides off the stool and steadies herself. “I think I’m good with the shots!”

Maxwell nods and sighs with relief. He wasn’t sure how much more of Riley trying to seduce information out of him he could take. “Let’s get back to DANCING!” 

“Wooooo! Dancing!” Riley and Maxwell hold hands on the way to the dance floor, Maxwell slightly leading until he finds a spot big enough for the two of them to dance at least a foot apart from each other. She doesn’t recognize the song, but it has a very sexy feel that makes her sway her hips and rub her hands up and down her body. And those were definitely Maxwell’s eyes following her hands as he danced that short distance away. “What’s on your mind?” she asks over the music. 

“Wh-You’re just so…” he trails off, twisting his mouth in consternation. 

“So…what?” she asks, tilting her head. 

“Beautiful!” he grins. Someone bumps him from behind and he ends up even closer to Riley. “Whoa, hey.” He tries to back up again but Riley’s hand reaches out and holds him where he is. 

“Stay…it’s nice,” she says, looking up at him from under her eyelashes. 

Since he’s so close, his arms have nowhere better to go than on her hips and the two somehow end up even closer. “Nice,” he breathes into her ear, their hips now grinding together to the beat. 

Her arms come up around his neck and their hips sway together in perfect rhythm with the music. His thigh slips between her legs and she’s able to grind herself down on him to provide a little friction. The hormones she keeps trying to suppress around him come surging back with a vengeance and she grows weak with the desire to physically connect with this ridiculously attractive, lovable man. 

Maxwell is struggling in so many ways right now. He’s a man who can hold his liquor after so many Beaumont Bashes, but the alcohol seems to be hitting him pretty hard tonight. Or maybe it’s the hormones swirling around his head…s. His first struggle is keeping his traitorous dick under control. Other struggles include Riley smelling so unbelievably good in his arms. She always does when they dance together, but being this close it’s like her delicious scent envelopes his senses. And while his senses could never let him forget that Riley is the one in his arms, he has to keep reminding himself that it’s her and not a random dance hall hookup or tinder date. It would be completely inappropriate to lean down and plant a kiss on the side of her neck, but his lips itch to make it happen. Trying to keep his lips under control, he channels the movement into his hips and grinds away. 

Riley is also struggling. She knew Maxwell could dance, but she is not prepared for how good those bumping and grinding hips could feel against her. Their dancing in the ballroom was tame compared to this dirty dancing. The alcohol has definitely lowered her inhibitions, but she has to struggle against two different impulses. She wants to lean up and kiss him on the side of the neck, stand on tip-toe to properly kiss him for the first time since the Moulin Rouge viewing. And she wants to whisper, “I love you with every fiber of my being.” She does neither, but grinds her center against his thigh at the same intensity that he grinds against her. They’re definitely giving as good as they’re getting and the give and take feels beautifully perfect. It feels right. 

The music slows down and an overblown 80s ballad comes on. Maxwell’s leg straightens and Riley stops grinding against him. 

“Do you want to keep dancing?” Maxwell asks, his eyes hopeful. 

Riley nods. 

They stay close together with Riley’s head against his chest, listening to his heart beat wildly. As the cheesy song comes to it’s awesomely 80s climax, Riley pulls her head up to look into Maxwell’s eyes. 

Continuing to sway back and forth, they gaze at each other, faces coming closer and closer together without either of them noticing. As naturally as breathing, their eyes fall closed and their lips come together in a deep, sweet kiss. Maxwell whimpers in the back of his throat and his hands come up from her hips to tangle in the hair at the back of her head, holding her to him. When they pull apart, both of them are breathing hard. 

“I thought we weren’t going to do this anymore,” Maxwell said, sounding angry. 

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to,” Riley responds, distressed. “Don’t be mad.”

“I’m not mad at you, Riley,” Maxwell says, running a finger down her cheek. “I’m mad at myself. I should’ve been able to resist you. But, you’re too amazing.”

“Maxwell, YOU’RE amazing. You’re the most supportive person in my life and also the most fun. I love y-” she stops and correct, “Love BEING with you.” 

“Samesies,” Maxwell says. “You’re the best dance partner a guy could ask for.”

“Does that mean we can make out some more?” she asks, trying not to sound too hopeful. 

Maxwell looks pained as he tries to make a decision. “How bout this. I’m not Maxwell right now, and you’re not,” he whispers, “Riley.” 

She gestures for him to continue.

“I’ll be Agent Breakdance, and you’ll be Agent Blossom, and we’re on a secret rendezvous,” Maxwell whispers in her ear. 

Riley shivers at the feeling of his breath ghosting against her ear. “Are we partners or rivals in this scenario?”

It’s Maxwell’s turn to shiver at the idea of role-playing with Riley. “Partners, always. I couldn’t ever pretend to be against you.”

“Mmm, I like the sound of us being partners,” she says, a smile spreading across her face. “So we’re on a mission and we have to dance in order to blend in and carry out our plan,” she says. “Did I get it right?”

“Hell yeah, Blossom. You’re doing great,” he encourages. “And you know, part of blending in at a party is kissing your insanely attractive partner, right? I mean, it’s suspicious if I don’t,” Maxwell reasons. 

Riley nods fervently. “Absolutely. This is definitely something that we have to do to throw off suspicion,” she agrees readily. 

He lowers his lips to hers slowly and stops before they connect. 

Riley whines in the back of her throat, looking at his lips with longing, and Maxwell can no longer resist. He crashes his lips into hers, and they kiss passionately, pouring all their feelings into each other. They kiss until the end of the slow song and part, looking into each others eyes with deep desire. 

“You know what else sexy secret agents do to stay undercover?” Riley leans up to whisper in his ear. 

“What else?” Maxwell breathes out. 

“Follow me,” she orders.

“Yes, ma’am,” he says and obeys, holding her hand the whole way until they’re in a dark, secluded alcove…the kind designed for quick, private moments like they desperately needed. 

“Dance with me.”

They pick up the naughty dancing from before the slow song, grinding against each other and maintaining carnal eye contact. Riley feels more alive than she has in weeks. A reporter could easily see them any second, grinding together like animals in public, and it would tarnish her name even more, making things even worse for Liam. With a savage grin, she reaches up to grab Maxwell’s head for a kiss. He eagerly responds, filthily kissing her with abandon. She’s finally reached through the barrier and found the Maxwell who isn’t worrying about his responsibility to House Beaumont, the one who could be selfish and do things for his own life and not someone else’s. 

One of his hands is buried in her hair, holding her head in the kiss, and his other hand is on her lower back, directing her movements and radiating heat that warms her to the core. “I love your hands,” Riley moans out when they break from kissing. 

“Oh?” he asks. “Should I use them more?”

“Yes,” she says and lifts her skirt up to him. “Fuck, please touch me, even if it’s just for tonight,” she begs. 

“Uhngh, Riley, as if I could ever say no,” he says. Quickly, he brings a hand to her center and strokes her through her thin, lacy underwear. It’s already dripping wet. “Oh God, is that for me?” he asks, his voice hoarse. 

“All for you,” she says, thrusting against his fingers to get more friction. 

Maxwell pushes the underwear out of the way and slips two fingers into her, sliding easily through her wetness. He leans his lips right up against Riley’s ear and whispers, “I wish I could get down on my knees and taste you.”

Riley whimpers and her knees shake. His fingers pump relentlessly in and out of her with his thumb pressed up against her clit, and the combination of sensations is driving her out of her mind with pleasure. 

Maxwell pulls her so that she’s in front of him with her back to the outside of the room so he can pull down her dress without anyone seeing. He presses his lips to the nipple through her lacy bra and flicks his tongue against it. The rough lace adds intensity to the sensation and Riley bows her back to shove her nipple further into his mouth. He pushes the bra out of the way just enough to capture the nipple in his lips and suck. With his fingers still pumping into her, the music thumping in their ears, their hips moving in time to the blaring music, Riley feels like she transcends her body and becomes one with the universe. 

“Maxwell!” she hisses out, hands grasping him wherever her hands happened to land. “Gonna make me come.”

He brings his lips back up to her ear. “I want to. May I?” he asks. When she doesn’t answer right away, he begs, “Please!”

“Yes, fuck, Maxwell, make me come,” she says, and something goes off in her head like a light bulb. “I command you.”

Maxwell whimpers. “Yes…ma’am…” He doubles up his efforts to get her off, and ruts his straining erection against Riley’s hip. 

“So…close…” Riley strains against him. 

“What do you need,” he whispers urgently. 

“Ungh, bite my shoulder,” she whispers back. 

“Yes, ma’am.” He obeys and Riley’s orgasm rips through her. She spasms against him . 

“Maxwell, fuck!” Riley cries out. 

“May I come, Riley? Please?” Maxwell asks through gritted teeth. 

“Yes, Maxwell!” she exclaims. “Do it!” She reaches down to cup him through his pants and a few thrusts later, Maxwell comes right in his underwear, but he feels way too good to care. 

“That…” Maxwell pants against Riley’s ear. “Was amazing.”

“Fuck, yes,” Riley agrees, hugging him tight. 

After hugging and panting and catching their breath together, they part ways to the bathroom to get cleaned up. When they meet again outside the restrooms, Riley says, “I think we should be getting back…It’s pretty late and we don’t want your brother to have a conniption.”

“Very true,” Maxwell says. He calls them a car and escorts her out of the club to wait by the curb. 

“Thank you so much for taking me out tonight, Maxwell,” Riley says while they wait. “I needed this.”

“I did, too.” He wraps her in a hug. “You’re incredible.”

The car pulls up to bring them home. 

“If only I could always be in your arms,” Riley says as he helps her into the car. She leans her head on his shoulder once he’s inside. “This is where I want to be,” she whispers, and then nods off. 

“Me too, Riley,” Maxwell whispers into her hair. “Me too.”


	11. Chapter 11

Riley wakes the next morning with trepidation. The night before was exactly what she needed, but would there be a price to pay this morning? Would Maxwell be acting all squirrelly on her or would things be more normal? Well, normal for Maxwell anyway. She makes her way through her morning routine, pulling on a comfortable, mid-calf, blue skirt and white baby doll t-shirt, and wanders downstairs.

“This is it,” Bertrand says loudly to Riley as she walks into the kitchen for breakfast.

She winces. Though she’s slightly hungover, she’s also in a much better mood than her previous hangovers during this wretched two week boot camp. “This is what,” she says, just to be facetious. She winks at Maxwell, and is delighted that he winks back.

“The moment we’ve all been waiting for,” Bertrand says, and Maxwell mouths along behind him out of Bertrand’s line of sight. “Tomorrow, you will be properly re-introduced to the court, and we will be one step closer to clearing your name, polishing your image, and fulfilling our dream of you becoming Queen of Cordonia, thus restoring honor to House Beaumont.”

“Oh, that,” she says, grinning with her tongue between her teeth. She sits at the counter next to Maxwell.

As he moves about the kitchen cooking, Bertrand says to her, “Now, I believe you are sufficiently trained to the best of our ability and I’ve come to terms with the fact that time was not on our side and we did the best we can. You’ve thrived remarkably well under the pressure, despite a few, er, hiccups along the way,” he glares pointedly at Riley’s hair, before going back to the eggs. He clears his throat. “We will strive to work around this, since you refuse to allow our personal house stylist, Fernando, restore your hair to a natural color. Since you managed to wow everyone with your fashion sense during the social season, we’ll work this into your aesthetic. I’ve hired someone to help us.”

“Really?” Riley asks. “Like a stylist? Can’t we just get Hana and Maxwell on it? They did well enough before.”

“Yeah we did!” Maxwell pumps his fist in the air.

“Maxwell will continue to aid in your stylistic choices, however I’ve hired you a press secretary. Someone who will help cultivate your image in the public eye. We shall be meeting him within the next few days.” Bertrand places plates of eggs, bacon, and waffles in front of Riley and Maxwell. “Eat up.”

Riley tucks into her breakfast and sips her coffee. “So what’s going on today?”

“Today,” Maxwell says in a dramatic tone, “You have nothing to worry about except experiencing a once in a life time pampering from YOOUURS TRUUUULYYYY!”

Bertrand scrubs a hand down his face with one hand and waves Maxwell on with the other.

Maxwell takes a big breath. “Siiiince we have no money-”

“Maxwell!” Bertrand reprimands tiredly, mostly out of habit.

“Sorry! I’m going to do your manicure and pedicure! I also offer an array of massage techniques in order to help you relax before your big day tomorrow. What do you say?”

Riley thinks a day spent with Maxwell is EXACTLY what she wants, but doesn’t want Bertrand to think she wants it so much that he takes it away. “That sounds perfectly acceptable,” trying to sound unaffected.

“Yay!” Maxwell cheers.

“No cheering at breakfast, Maxwell. I’ve told you this a thousand times!” Bertrand scolds and then finally sits down to his own breakfast. Maxwell and Riley are finished eating, so Bertrand shoos them away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“A whole day without Bertrand bossing me around!? How can I contain myself!” Riley leaps into the air.

“No need to contain yourself around me!” Maxwell says happily.

“Oh really?” Riley asks, a mischievous look in her eye. She stops them and leans up to kiss him squarely on the lips. When she pulls away, she sees his eyes wide open.

“Wow,” he says, sounding awed. “Bertrand is going to be away from the estate all day, so we’ve got the place to ourselves. I think we should start with all the necessary things first. Like, your manicure and pedicure! Are you ready to be transported through the comfort and relaxation barrier? Scientists didn’t think it was possible for this level of tranquility to be achieved, but we’ve done it!”

Riley giggles. “Yes, please. Show me the way!”

He offers his arm, which she takes, and he escorts her to the Beaumont spa, the same place they enjoyed the hot tub.

“Wow, there’s way more in here than I’d realized,” Riley says, sitting in the pedicure chair Maxwell leads her to. “You still haven’t given me a tour of this place, you know.”

“Oh no, you’re right!” Maxwell turns to her, dismayed. “I promised…hopefully there’s enough time later!” He gathers some supplies together and settles near her feet. “Are you ready for EXTREME RELAXATION?”

“Bring it on,” she grins. He starts in on a foot massage and Riley groans happily. “That’s the stuff.”

When Maxwell has finished doing her manicure and pedicure, and all she has to do is sit back and relax while the polish dries, Riley says, “That was absolutely wonderful, Maxwell. If you need to help Bertrand make money, you could just open up the spa and charge good money for this! Where’d you learn how?”

“I begged my mom’s nail technician to teach me how so I could surprise her one year for Mother’s Day. She loved it so much! And I enjoyed pampering her from then on whenever she had the time,” Maxwell tells her while cleaning up.

“You’re so adorable, Maxwell,” Riley says, grinning over the thought of tiny Maxwell pampering his mom. “Never change.”

Maxwell laughs.  “That’s not what people usually tell me."

“Well, people are foolish.” She nods her head decisively. “What’s next on the agenda?”

“Would you like a massage?” he asks, gesturing at the massage table nearby.

“Hmm, are we sure Bertrand is gone for the day?” she asks, thinking about getting naked around Maxwell and where that may lead.

Maxwell checks his phone and says, “Yep! He has several errands to run before we leave for the tour, and he just let me know he’s left for the day and also told me not to burn down the house.”

“Like I’d let you do that,” she rolls her eyes. “Anyway, if he’s gone, sure! I don’t need much of an excuse to disrobe around you,” she winks at him and his face flushes.

“I-I’ll give you some privacy. Put on the towel when you’re ready.” He walks out of the room and Riley pouts.

Once she’s naked, in a towel, and situated on the massage table, she calls Maxwell back in. Since she’s facing away from the door, she can’t see his face when he walks in, but it’s quiet enough in the room that she can hear him gulp when he sees her. She wiggles her bottom as if she’s trying to get comfy. “I’m ready for my back rub,” she says cheerfully.

“I can see that!” Maxwell squeaks and then pulls himself together. After a stern internal talking to, Maxwell gathers up the massage oil and gets to work. “You’ve got a lot of knots in your back again,” he says.

“I’ve been a little bit stressed,” Riley says wryly.

“If only I could make the stress go away,” Maxwell says, his voice sounding a bit sad.

Thoughts of all the work that will need to be accomplished in the coming days once they're back at court flash through her mind.  “Guess you’ll have to be my personal masseuse on the Engagement Tour. That’s sure to be stressful and a half.”

“I volunteer as tribute!” Maxwell says dramatically, throwing his hands in the air and flinging massage oil about the room.

Riley laughs. “I’m going to miss hanging out with you all the time.”

“Me too,” Maxwell says, quieting down. “We’ll have to make time in between everything to hang out!”

“Definitely,” Riley agrees. After a few more long moments of Maxwell’s expert massaging, Riley suddenly turns over. “We’ll especially need to find time to do this,” she says, and pulls Maxwell down for a kiss.

He groans into the kiss, instinctively wrapping his arms around Riley and bringing her closer to him. Her towel has slipped off and her top is totally bare. The slightly rough feeling of his black shirt stimulates her nipples into firm peaks and she moans back to him. While still kissing, she quickly undoes the buttons on his shirt and starts to push it off of him.

Maxwell realizes his shirt is coming off only because of a sudden change in temperature on his chest and he yelps, jumping away from Riley and yanking the shirt back together. He starts frantically trying to button it back up but the adrenaline rush is making his hands shake.

“I’m sorry, Maxwell…I thought…that’s where this was going…” Riley trails off, hugging her knees up to her chest and using the towel to cover herself.

“I’m just - I’m not - I can’t…” Maxwell breaks off, heaving a frustrated sigh. “Let me try that again?”

She nods, looking perplexed.

“I’m not supposed to take my shirt off in front of anyone. And we’re not supposed to be doing this. I’M not supposed to be doing this. Tomorrow, we have to go back to court where the man who loves you is waiting to see you again,” he says, looking defeated.

Riley becomes agitated, shifting in her seat. “First of all, the ‘man who loves me’ proposed to another woman. I’m sure there’s a reason for it, but what Bertrand says about Liam being able to change his selection for the ‘good of the nation?’ I seriously doubt there’s anything so wrong with Madeleine that they allow him to break it off with her just because my name happens to be cleared.” She glares up at Maxwell. “And I still don’t even know if I want to be married to Liam! I don’t know if I want the pressure of being Queen.”

Maxwell hops up on the massage table next to her with a sigh. He looks very troubled. “I know things are rough right now…” He scratches the back of his neck. “I’m sure seeing them kiss as you were dragged out of there didn’t give you a warm fuzzy feeling.”

She glares harder.

He gulps. “I just mean, maybe whatever he has to say will make you change your mind. And I don’t want to risk ruining our friendship if you’re going to end up with the King.”

Her gaze softens. “Maxwell, nothing will ruin our friendship. That’s a promise I can definitely keep.”

He smiles, but it’s tinged with sadness. “I know you think that, but my experience tells me differently. Every person I’ve slept with, whether I was friends with them beforehand or not, has wanted nothing to do with me after our time together. I couldn’t bear it if that happened with you.”

Riley frowns. “I already told you, all those people were dumb! They obviously can’t see how awesome you are.”

“You always make me feel so good about myself,” Maxwell says with a real smile.

“Ditto,” Riley winks. “And, you know, we did stuff last night! And here I am, still being best friends with you…”

“True,” he says, nodding in concession.

They look into each other’s eyes, and the familiar heat starts to build between them again. They’re leaning in towards each other without realizing it, lips seemingly magnetized. When they touch, both of their hearts take off beating wildly. He pulls back with a groan. “How are you so hard to resist?”

She runs her hand through his hair. “Look, we both seem to be attracted to each other at the very least. I have one night left before I have to go back to the pursuit of marrying a King. There’s no one in this house to ever tell anyone else what happens between us today…maybe this could be our one time? Tomorrow we go back to making me Queen?”

He looks at her with deep longing. Then, he nods slowly.

“Yay!” She throws her arms around him, the towel falling down again.

He hugs her but then lightly pushes her back.  “But, I’m not sure I want to, you know, go all the way…”

Riley backs off, pulling the towel back up. “Okay. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. I know I seem to keep pushing…I don’t mean to! I just want you so much, but I can behave.” She pulls her hands to herself and folds them primly in her lap. “See, doing it already.”

Maxwell grins. “I admire your restraint. But just because I don’t want to go all the way doesn’t mean we can’t do other things…ya know, like, hands and mouth stuff.”

Riley snorts out a giggle. “Hands and mouth stuff?"  She shakes her head.  "Only you, Maxwell. But if that’s the case, get over here.”

“Yes ma’am!” He eagerly scoops her up into a kiss. Then he kisses from her cheek to her neck and down to her chest.

“Wait a sec,” Riley says, holding the towel when he tries to pull it down a little. “We need to even things up a bit here. You have to take that shirt off!”

Maxwell groans. “Do I really have to?” he whines. “Bertrand will kill me if you know.”

“Know what?” she asks, but then a light goes off in her head and she remembers. “OH MY GOD! Your tattoo! You have to show me!” She throws herself forward to try and pull his shirt up. When he thwarts her attempts, she starts tickling him.

“HEEEEHEHHE,” Maxwell giggles and thrashes about. In the ruckus following his flailing, somehow Riley’s hand gets caught in the fabric of the shirt and Maxwell yanks himself the opposite direction, making all the buttons depart from their homes and fling about the room, making Maxwell’s shirt fly open.

Time seems to slow down, and Riley gasps when she sees the tattoo on the upper right side of his chest: an adorable baby hippo.  Her mouth drops open.

He lets the shirt fall off his shoulders and onto the floor, defeated. “I know…it’s ridiculous. Bertrand has banned me from allowing anyone to see it because it doesn’t fit the illustrious image of glorious House Beaumont,” he says in dismay.

“Maxwell,” she says, and then pauses. “This tattoo is Ah-MaAaAzInG!”

He smiles tentatively. “You think so?”

“Yes!” She reaches out to touch it and pauses. “May I?”

“Go ahead!” he grins.

She traces the hippo with her finger, making Maxwell shiver a little. “Please tell me there’s an adorable story to go with this!” Riley begs.

“Awe, it’s kind of a long story, but I got it for my mom…she used to call me her little hippo,” he looks at her like he’s trying to gauge her reaction.

Riley smiles so hard her eyes water up. “That…is so...cute.”

“I’m so glad you think so,” Maxwell says, sounding relieved. “But seriously, don’t tell Bertrand you know…”

Riley rolls her eyes. “Like there's ever going to be a time that would make sense for me to bring up the fact I’ve seen you without a shirt on.”

“Oh,” he says. “Good point. Now, where were we?”

Riley draws her hand down his chest and leans an inch away from his face. “I think we were here?”

He leans in to close the gap and captures her lips in a kiss. “This is ringing a bell!” Again and again he kisses her, each one growing more heated than the last. Finally, Riley gets tired of the towel getting in the way and asks, “May I?” and gestures like she’s going to toss it away.

His eyes go wide. “Absolutely,” he nods quickly.

“You’re sure?” she asks, her tongue peeking out between her teeth.

“Okay, now you’re just teasing me!” he says, looking at her with lust blown eyes.

“Well, if you’re certain…” She slips the towel off of her chest slowly, letting him drink in his fill.

He looks longingly at her peaked nipples and licks his lips, but doesn’t dare move to touch her.

Riley notices his gaze and bites her lip. “You can touch if you want.”

As soon as he’s given permission he reaches out to cup her right breast, brushing his thumb over her nipple. She gasps and lets her head fall back.

“More,” she moans.

Maxwell pinches and rolls the nipple between his finger and thumb and tries to gauge Riley’s reaction. She sucks in a breath through her teeth and arches her back to get closer to him, so he keeps it up with one nipple and ducks his head down to lick and swirl his tongue around the other.

“Yessss,” she hisses out, her hands coming up to hold his head in place.

He uses his other hand to caress her skin wherever he can reach, leaving goosebumps in his wake.

“Maxwell,” Riley whispers, her eyes closed while she enjoys the sensations.

“Yes, m’lady?” he looks up at her and asks.

“You feel soooo good,” she says, looking down into his eyes. “But I want a turn.”

He immediately stops what he’s doing and sits up straight. “Yes, ma’am. Whatever you want.”

An evil glint enters Riley’s eye and she hops of the table, letting the towel fall off entirely, completely exposing her naked body to Maxwell for the first time.

He whimpers.

“Stand up, Maxwell,” she commands.

He scrambles to stand up quickly.

Riley runs her finger just under the waistband of his pants, teasing him. “Take off your pants and underwear.”

Maxwell kicks his shoes off, yanks his belt undone and shoves both articles of clothing off at once, pulling his socks off as he goes. If there’s one thing he knows how to do well, it’s strip as efficiently as possible.

“I like this obedient Maxwell,” she says, gazing at him hungrily. “Turn in a circle for me.”

Feeling her appraising eyes on him, he slowly turns in a circle. He’s insanely turned on by her commanding presence. It makes him want to be perfect for her, obey her every order precisely.

“You’re absolutely gorgeous, Maxwell,” she says, stepping up to him and caressing her fingers down his face. “And you’re being so good for me.”

He shivers at her praise.

“Sit on the edge of the massage table,” she instructs.

Hastily, he obeys.

Riley steps up to him so that she’s between his legs and runs her hands up and down his thighs. “I think you deserve a reward.” She tilts her head up to him. “Kiss me.”

“Yes ma’am,” he whispers and leans down, his lips crashing into hers for a desperate kiss. Riley weaves her fingers into the hair at the back of his head and controls the kiss, even though he has more leverage in this position. Maxwell whimpers as Riley pulls away.

Riley thinks about Maxwell whispering in her ear at the club last night, how he wanted to taste her, and she decides to find out if that’s still on his mind. She asks, “If you could choose anything to do to me right now, what would you pick,” curious where he’d like this to go.

“I want to taste you, Riley,” he answers immediately. “Please.”

She smiles in delight that her hunch was correct. “Well, since you asked so nicely, I suppose I can let you do that. Switch places with me.”

Before she knows what’s happening, Maxwell has slipped off the massage table, and lifted her up onto it before burying his face in between her thighs. The second his tongue touches her wet, throbbing clit, pleasure bursts through her in a hot rush.

“Yes!” she cries out, her hands coming to his head, nails scratching through his hair.

Immediately, Maxwell is addicted to her taste. He laves his tongue against her to some imaginary rhythm in his head, starting off slow and exploratory and gradually gaining speed and precision. Every minute or so, he stops licking her to nip at her thighs and kiss her stomach, but he always goes right back to where she needs his attention most.

The heat within her builds steadily and her thighs begin to tremble. “Maxwell…” she moans.

Hearing his name sends a spike of arousal through him, and he digs a thumbnail into her hipbone, causing her to squeal and a fresh rush of wetness to cascade over his tongue.

“Hng!” Riley’s thighs clench around Maxwell’s head. “Finger me!” she demands.

Maxwell pulls his head back enough to see what he’s doing and inserts two fingers into Riley at a tortuously slow pace.

“Fuck!” She pulls his hair, looks down at him and growls. “Don’t. Tease me.”

“Yes ma’am,” he says, his voice hoarse. He slips his fingers into her all the way and rubs at her g-spot with a steady rhythm, going back to licking and kissing her clit. This time his rhythm speeds up much less gradually. When he finds a combination of movements that has Riley nearly screaming, he keeps it up as long as he can, feeling her legs shake around his head.

“I’m gonna come!” she shouts. “Fuck, Maxwell!” She feels it building like a tidal wave and when it finally breaks, she screams.

Maxwell rides out her orgasm, coaxing her through it. Because he never lets up, she feels another orgasm immediately following the first one and she sobs out her pleasure. Eventually it becomes too much stimulation and she pulls him up for a kiss.

His mouth is dripping with her juices and she eagerly kisses him clean. Their tongues meet in a scorching kiss, dancing and caressing each other to the music beating through their veins.

Maxwell pulls away to whisper in her ear, “You are the sexiest person on the planet.”

“Mmm, you’re not so bad yourself,” she whispers back, feeling positively giddy after such amazing orgasms. “In fact, I think THAT deserves a reward.” Riley slides off the table, her body gliding down Maxwell’s. When her stomach brushes over his cock, he whimpers. Once her feet are firmly planted on the floor, she whirls them around so he’s leaning up against the table, and she drops to her knees in front of him.

Even after their moment in the club last night, Maxwell cannot believe this is happening right now. He’s put so much effort into trying to ignore his attraction to Riley that he has no way to deal with it now that the floodgates are open. He’s vibrating like a plucked guitar string and the first soft, tentative lick of Riley’s tongue on the head of his cock nearly makes him jump out of his skin. “Hnngg,” he whines, biting down on his lip and trying not to move.

“Mmm, tasty,” she winks up at him. Her hand holds him steady by the base, and she starts giving him long licks from the bottom and swirling her tongue around the tip each time she passes over it. After a while of doing that, she starts licking and kissing down his balls while pumping his erection with her fist. Her tongue slips just behind his balls and his legs go weak. The groan he gives her is so thrilling, she decides to hell with teasing.  She licks a long stripe up his sack, along the pulsing vein to the tip, and swallows him down the back of her throat.

“Fuck!” he cries out, hands gripping the side of the massage table with all his might. Even though he’s been with a decent number of people, he’s very rarely had the pleasure of receiving a blow job, especially not one as good as this. If anyone gave him head, it was just to get him hard and ready to fuck, and with the male partners he’s had, he’s usually the one doing the sucking. He doesn’t mind, since oral is one of this favorite things to give, but the downside to always giving and never receiving is that it feels way too good for him to last very long.

The thing that’s turning him on the most is Riley’s near constant moaning while she sucks him down. She sounds like she’s enjoying this almost as much as when he was going down on her and it makes his toes curl. The vibrations from her moans add another level of intensity and he can feel his thighs quaking with the effort of holding himself upright in the face of such an onslaught of pleasure.

Riley can feel how taut Maxwell’s muscles are and she knows he must be close. She reaches one hand down to fondle him while she sucks and licks his cock and uses her other hand to scratch at the front of his thighs.

He cries out at the added stimulation, his upper body hunching over a bit. “I’m so close,” he whispers, his voice sounding strung out.

She groans loudly at his pronouncement and works her mouth and tongue even faster, sucking harder.

“Riley! Gonna come!” he barely manages to cry out before he releases. She sucks every drop down, working him through each spasm and spurt.

When she pulls off of him with a pop, she sits back on her heels. Slowly, she wipes her hand across her mouth, looking at him with desire burning in her eyes the whole time.

Maxwell feels like his heart, soul, and brain have all been sucked out of his cock and he can barely hold himself upright, but he grabs her hand and helps her up. Once she’s standing at full height before him, he pulls her into a giant, enveloping hug.

Riley sighs contentedly into Maxwell’s chest, reveling in the feeling of all this skin to skin contact. After a few heavenly moments of standing like this, she says, “That was amazing.”

“I think I’m the one who should be saying that,” he says, squeezing her a little tighter. “Holy shit, Riley, you’re like a sex goddess.”

She snorts a laugh, squeezing him back. “I enjoyed every moment of it, believe me.”

“I do,” he says, his voice full of wonder. “I’ve never actually done that before…”

Riley pulls away from him a little, raising a skeptical eyebrow. “I thought you said you’d had sex with people before?”

“Definitely,” he nods. “But no one’s let me…ya know…in their mouth before.” He refuses to look her in the eye and he fidgets in her arms.

Riley’s lips fall into a frown. “I swear, the people you’ve been with are…” she trails off, not able to find an adequate word for how dumb they must be. “Maxwell, look at me.”

His eyes snap to hers.

“I’m going to make it up to you. I’m going to give you so much head you get sick of it,” she says, mischief mingled with affection sparkling in her eyes.

He laughs despite himself. “You really don’t have to do that, but I thoroughly appreciate the offer.” He looks at the clock. “I think we have plenty of time to do that tour of the Beaumont Estate if you still want to,” he says, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Riley lights up. “YES! We have to!”

She starts scrambling for her clothes and Maxwell dresses as well. When they’re both dressed, Riley tackles him into another big hug.

“This is going to be AaAaAwEsOmE!” she squeals.

“Hell yeah!” Maxwell agrees when they part from their hug. He holds out his arm like a proper gentleman and she hooks her's through it like a proper lady. “Now then, follow me!” he says in a snooty tour guide impression, and they take off for a tour around the estate. 


	12. Chapter 12

Maxwell leads Riley to the kitchen and has her sit at the counter while he prepares some snacks for their adventure. “Let’s see, we’ve got cheese, fruits, berries, vegetables, various dips, chips, chocolates, and tiny sandwiches.” He packs it all into a picnic basket along with a bottle of champagne and two glasses in a fancy carrying case that protects the glassware from breaking.

“Are you planning on feeding an army?” Riley asks, swinging her feet from her perch at the counter.

“Are you telling me you’re NOT starving right now?” Maxwell shoots back with an eyebrow raised.

Her stomach growls and he gives her a pointed look. “Okay, fine, I am hungry! Let’s get to eating!” She goes to grab one of the sandwiches from the basket, but he slaps the cover of the basket down on her fingers. “Hey!”

“I want to do this somewhere special!” he says, scooping up the basket with one arm and offering his other arm to her.

She takes it and says, “Alright, fine! Where shall we start?”

“Since you’ve seen the ballroom, the second ballroom, the dining room, the movie theatre, the spa, and your bedroom, we will be focusing on other exciting rooms with a special interest in secret passages and rooms on The Great Beaumont Estate Tour.” He does a jazz hand with the arm holding the basket.

“Sounds exciting,” she says and squeezes his arm.

They walk through familiar hallways, past her bedroom, and then stop at the door for Maxwell’s room.

“Your bedroom?” she asks, giving him an odd look.

“Yes, but this is only a stop.” He opens the door and holds it for her. “After you, m’lady.”

Riley walks into the room and looks around. It’s surprisingly neat, considering what a hurricane Maxwell can be when he’s in the zone, though it definitely feels like Maxwell’s room. There are shelves filled to bursting with CDs, at least one row of vinyl, a turntable set up in the corner, a desk that contains the most disorganization and clutter, and one shelf filled with stuffed animals and knickknacks. She’s immediately drawn to a baby hippo plushy and picks it up, hugging it to her chest.

“Did your mom give you this?” she asks with that dopey expression she always gets around cute animals.

“No, actually…Bertrand gave it to me! I was so shocked he got me something so sentimental,” he says, thinking back to that day. He misses fun and happy Bertrand, but there’s no use dwelling on it.

“Wow, I can just imagine Bertrand going into a store to pick out a baby hippo stuffed animal. He’d be sneering the whole time, barking at the cashier that it’s not for him when she only asks him if he wants a bag.” Riley giggles and puts the toy back.

“That sounds exactly like Bertrand,” Maxwell says, nodding.

Riley faces him, a curious expression on her face. “So, I doubt we came to your room JUST to look at your adorable stuffed animals. Did we need to get something for the tour?”

“We came here for this!” He pulls out a picnic blanket and spreads it out in the middle of his room. “Have a seat,” he gestures, and sets out the picnic spread. Maxwell crosses his feet, does a spin, and sinks to his knees on the blanket, then swings his legs around to cross in front of him. “We feast!”

Riley gracefully flutters to the floor and sits cross-legged next to Maxwell, close enough that their knees occasionally bump each other. They both dig into the sandwiches and various other offerings of the Great Picnic Basket.

“You really know how to put together a good picnic,” Riley says after swallowing a mouthful of blueberries.

Maxwell pops the champagne the NORMAL way for once and pours them each a glass. He hands her one, takes one for himself, and holds it out. “To finding a best friend!” he toasts.

“Especially one that’s so much fun to make out with,” she toasts back with a wink.

Maxwell bursts out laughing and they clink glasses. Together, they take a sip.

Riley musters up her snootiest voice and says, “Mmm, this is quite zippy with a scattering of floral and hazelnut notes,” she pauses, sniffing and taking another sip. “Hmm, fragrant apple, and I think a touch of sea salt towards the end.”

“Wow, that was amazing! I have no idea if you’re right, but it sounds perfect!” Maxwell enthuses.

“Thank you, thank you,” she says, pretending to curtsy as she sits.

They both partake in the sandwiches and champagne at a leisurely pace, but soon she’s out of food on her plate and eying her options. She’s not sure what she wants to try next.

Maxwell sees her pondering and picks up a strawberry. Then he picks up one of the containers of dip, which happens to contain chocolate. He dips the small, but bright red strawberry in the chocolate, getting a nice coating all around. “Want to try?” he asks, his eyes twinkling. He holds it out for her and she leans in to take a bite.

“MmMmMmMmMm, that’s delicious,” she moans when the flavor explodes on her tongue. Licking her lips, she picks up a strawberry and does the same thing, offering it to him. But when he leans in to bite it, she keeps moving it back until he’s a few inches from her face and she steals his lips in a kiss. When she pulls away, Maxwell’s lips are still puckered up, so she smears the chocolate from the strawberry on his lips.

He opens his mouth and sucks the strawberry from her fingers, his tongue dancing over her finger tips. Riley groans in the back of her throat and leans in to lick the chocolate off of his lips. The contact sparks a heated kiss and Maxwell carefully guides her to the floor, kissing the whole way down. He thanks the sex gods that he somehow manages not to knock over any food or break anything.

They hold each other close for long minutes of kissing and caressing each other. Occasionally, they pull away from a kiss to look into each other’s eyes. Riley strokes Maxwell’s cheeks and tries to memorize the feeling of him being this close. When the gaze between them becomes too heated to ignore, they come together again, kissing fiercely.

“You taste so good, Riley,” Maxwell says, stroking her hair.

She giggles. “I think that’s the chocolate.”

His lips come up in a lopsided grin. “Maybe, but I think it’s just you. But I better check to make sure.” He kisses her again, pauses to ponder the taste, and then kisses her again, and again. “Nah, it’s just you.”

Riley feels warm all over and ready to spend the day making out on the floor, but Maxwell sits up and continues eating.

“Better fill up! The tour is about to really kick off,” he says, full of enthusiasm.

She sits up with him, feeling slightly frazzled, but still hungry. They proceed to demolish the entire spread of food in only a few minutes.

“Daaamn, we cleared that basket,” Riley says, leaning back with a burp. Her hand flies up to her mouth and she bursts out laughing. “I’m so glad Bertrand wasn’t around for that!”

“O.M.G. he would lOoOoOsE it!” Maxwell says, guffawing. “Although, back when he wasn’t so uptight, and also admittedly very drunk, we had a burping contest one party.”

“No. Way,” Riley says, eyes wide with wonder.

“Way,” Maxwell nods. “It was pretty epic. I TOTALLY won.”

“Obviously,” Riley scoffs.

“Obviously!” Maxwell walks over to one of his bookcases and pulls a book down like a lever. The bookcase rumbles and opens to reveal a hidden passage.

Riley looks at the opening with her eyes bugged out and jaw dropped. Then she squeals in delight, clapping her hands. “You have a secret passage IN YOUR BEDROOM! Did you guys get to up to all sorts of shenanigans when you were kids?”

Maxwell laughs. “Yeah, there were a fair amount of epic hide and seek games, that’s for sure. Sometimes it would take over an hour to search everywhere in the house and we had to make a rule that you were NOT allowed to change your spot after one round lasted four hours.”

“Was it you or Bertrand who kept changing spots?” Riley asks, looking delighted.

“It was definitely me. He’s too good at figuring out where I hide, otherwise!” Maxwell grins at her. “Shall we follow the passage?”

“Yes!” Instead of waiting to take Maxwell’s arm, she darts through the opening. Once inside, she sees a hallway to the right and she starts walking down, counting the doors as she goes. “I see...four doors, including yours,” she calls back to him. “What rooms do they lead to?”

Maxwell stops at the first door after his and uses a key to open it. He pushes the door/bookcase open and lets Riley peek. “This is Bertrand’s room. Do not tell him you’ve been in here.”

She looks around, but it’s about as Bertrand as it could possibly be...perfectly bland and hardly any personality. She pretends to yawn. “Booooring.”

Maxwell grins. “Yeah, it didn’t always look like this.” He pulls the door closed and locks it again.

As they move down the passage to the next door, Riley says, “It’s really sad that he’s let all of this Duke of Ramsford stuff take over his life.” She frowns. “It’s not worth having a title if you have to lose yourself.”

Maxwell’s grin fades. “I agree, but most other nobles don’t. They’re all too busy trying to be better than each other when it’s so much more relaxing to just be yourself and have fun.”

“That’s why I like you so much, Maxwell. You just do you.”

She’s grinning at him again and it makes focusing on anything very difficult when she does that. Since he’s not sure what to say, he unlocks the next door and pushes it open. “After you,” he gestures for her to go through the opening.

She walks into a massive, grand bedroom fit for a king. Or, she supposes, a Duke and Duchess. “Is this your parents’ former room?”

“Yep,” he says, popping the p. “We’ve just kind of...left it like this. I thought Bertrand would move in here once he became Duke, but he’s stayed in his childhood room. I didn’t feel right taking it over as the spare to the heir,” he chuckles, though it’s not a pleasant sound.

After a quick look around at all the gold trimming and deep purple bedding, she leaves the room, feeling a bit of a chill in her spine. Maxwell shuts the door and locks it, and they continue down the hall.

When Riley walks into this one, she recognizes the study where she found the missing money with Drake. “Very fancy,” she comments, looking again at all of their achievements hanging on the wall.

“This was our father’s study,” Maxwell says. “Not much to see in here these days.” He shrugs. “Hope this tour hasn’t been too disappointing?”

“Oh, no, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this tour through the Beaumonts’ secrets. Are there any more?” she asks eagerly.

“A couple,” he says. He goes back into the secret passage and Riley follows him.

She realizes there’s a left hand turn up ahead that leads to a large, heavy, locked door. Maxwell unlocks it and pulls it open.

When Riley walks inside, she’s blown away. There’s an entire small apartment inside this room, with a kitchen area, dining area, and living room space. There are several doors that she assumes leads to bedrooms. “Is this a panic room?” she asks, her voice full of awe.

Maxwell nods. “Yeah, it’s been here for generations. Our parents had it upgraded a lot when they were heads of the house and Bertrand has updated it even further. Luckily we’ve never had to use it for its intended purpose, but I do come here sometimes if I need to be alone.” He scratches the back of his neck. “I know it seems highly improbable that I’d need time to myself, being such a people person and all that, but it’s nice to have a quiet spot where no one can find you every once in a while.”

Riley reaches out and takes his hand. “I totally get it. I didn’t have a place like this, but I had a hidey-hole growing up under the stairs that I would hide in if my parents had company over and I wasn’t feeling sociable. I could read all the books I wanted in there and people would leave me alone.”

He squeezes her hand. The look he gives her is so tender it makes her heart stop and then gallop ahead double time. Then his lips slide into a cheeky grin and he pulls her into him and dips her for a scorching hot kiss. When he brings them back up to a standing position, Riley is out of breath.

“You literally take my breath away, Maxwell. I’m not even being punny right now,” she says between breaths.

“Awe, Riley, you say the sweetest things,” he grins.

“Shut up and kiss me some more,” she grins back.

He obliges, holding one hand at the nape of her neck and the other on the small of her back. They kiss for long moments, enjoying the feeling of being free together with no one to butt in and put an end to things.

After awhile, they part, still leaning into each other. Riley looks around. “So why the panic room, anyway?” she asks, just for something to say into the sudden silence.

“Oh, Cordonia has had its fair share of turbulent times throughout history. When House Beaumont was built, there was a war raging, and my ancestors made sure to make it as safe as possible in the event of a siege.”

“Wow, that’s kind of crazy,” she muses. “I didn’t realize how old this place was. Lots of history here…”

Maxwell nods. “Yeah. A lot to live up to…”

They share a knowing look.

“I guess we should head back to do the rest of the tour…it’s nowhere near as exciting as this, but we’ll leave no room unturned!” Maxwell declares.

“Okay!” she says, knowing she’ll have fun no matter what they do as long as they’re together.

They spend the rest of the afternoon viewing every bedroom, bathroom, servants quarters, and medical room, but Riley noped out of touring the creepy basement. She is the most carefree and normal she’s felt since before even coming to Cordonia. When it’s just the two of them, all the pressure she’s been facing just falls away.

Maxwell has never enjoyed giving someone a tour of House Beaumont as much as showing Riley around. Her fresh perspective on his childhood home helped him see each room with new light. But of course, the best part was kissing Riley in every single room, even if it’s a quick peck on the lips.

“No room shall escape,” Riley tells him, smooching him in the second floor bathroom.

“I’m sure none of them want to,” Maxwell says, feeling dazed with kisses.

As they’re coming to the end of the tour, they run into Bertrand in the main hallway.

“Ah, dear brother, Riley,” he nods to each of them in turn. “I trust your day of relaxation has gone well?”

“Very well,” Riley says, trying to will her cheeks not to turn red and hoping to hell she’s not a walking billboard for what activities they’ve been up to all day. “I feel educated, relaxed, and ready to roll tomorrow!”

Bertrand nods to her again, looking distracted. “Excellent. I am going to retire for the evening as I had dinner while running errands. I hope you managed to feed yourselves while I was gone.”

They both think back to feeding each other strawberries and rolling around on the floor. Then they remembered their activities before they even made it to lunch, and both were trying very hard not to blush.

“Yep, we ate!” Maxwell says. “I was just about to make some pasta for the two of us. We got caught up on taking a tour of the house, since she’s never seen the whole thing before.”

“Good, good. Enjoy your dinner. Goodnight,” Bertrand nods and hurries up the stairs towards his bedroom.

“He seemed…distracted,” Riley says, looking after Bertrand quizzically.

Maxwell watches him going with a frown on his face. Then he shrugs. “He’s dealing with a lot. Let’s go make dinner!”

In the kitchen, they get to work boiling water for the pasta and browning the meat for the sauce. They work well together, dancing around the kitchen as they grab ingredients and take turns stirring. Riley’s treacherous mind tries to paint a beautiful future where they live together in a small apartment because neither of them have any money, dancing around each other like this every night and enjoying every moment of their lives together.

But, it wasn’t possible, and she had to stop herself from thinking that way. They had today and tonight and that was it.

For Maxwell’s part, he’s having more fun cooking with Riley than he’s ever had by himself. Usually cooking is a chore that he slogs through because he has to feed his rock hard muscles, but with Riley it’s dancing, laughing, singing, and having WAY too much fun. He didn’t know it was possible to have this much fun doing something he finds so boring. His heart clenches at the thought that this is the only day they have together. But, if it’s the only one…perhaps he should make the most of it.

Conversation flows all through dinner, never stuttering to a halt or becoming awkward. Cleaning up is quick and easy with the two of them working together and soon they find themselves walking up to their rooms. It’s not terribly late, only 9:30, so Riley wracks her brain to come up with a way for them to spend more time together.

“Wanna help me pack?” she asks, thinking about trying to fit all her gowns into her suitcase again.

“Sure,” he agrees readily, also not wanting the night to end.

They enter her room and she lugs her suitcase over to the bed, throwing it open. “I’ll focus on the bureau since that’s more personal. You can start by trying to wrestle all those dresses into the suitcase,” she directs.

“Yes ma’am!” he says and gets to work immediately.

While she gathers her intimate apparel into a small garment bag, she thinks about Maxwell’s proclivity for taking orders and apparently getting off on it. She also thinks about how tonight is the last night she can be with him like this. All through packing, she sends him furtive glances, thinking about how she could possibly incorporate his desires into her planned seduction for bedtime.

Even with her daydreaming, between the two of them, she’s packed in no time.

“Wow, and the suitcase closes and everything!” Riley exclaims. “I’m impressed. Everything that’s left, I’ll throw in my backpack in the morning.”

“Nothing can stop us!” Maxwell holds up a hand and they high five. He puts the suitcase by the door so it’s ready to go in the morning. “I guess I should head to bed, let you get some sleep.”

Riley bites her lip, thinking now or never. “Or, you could stay here and snuggle?”

He gives her a longing look. “You know I want to, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea.” He’s not sure he could resist her for very much longer, and snuggling seemed like a quick way to shatter all resistance.

“If it’s our last night…and it’s like tomorrow’s the end of the world... I mean, we have to see MADELEINE,” Riley says, sounding disgruntled.

Maxwell laughs. He wraps his arms around Riley, giving her a hug. They stand like that for a while, enjoying the calm embrace. Then, by some silent cue, they look at each other with heat blazing in their eyes and come together in a kiss full of urgency. The weight of this being their last night crashes down around them and they cling to each other in desperation.

Riley kisses her way to Maxwell’s neck where she bites down, feeling ravenous for him. He cries out but arches into it. Her hand comes up to the back of his head and yanks his head back so she can bite and kiss across his throat to the other side of his neck, which she gives the same attention. He’s moaning steadily, but not moving to alleviate any of his discomfort.

“Do you want to touch yourself?” she asks him in a demanding voice.

“Y-yes,” he says, voice wavering.

“If I told you not to touch yourself, would you listen?” she asks.

“Yes ma’am,” he says, his voice a little stronger.

“Okay, don’t touch yourself yet.” She steps back from him and he stays put. “If this is our last night together, what is the one thing you want to do before our time is up?”

Without hesitation he says, “I want to worship your body.”

Riley tries to hide a smile, only somewhat successfully. “Undress me,” she commands, and he races to do as she says.

Reverently he pulls her t-shirt up over her head, kissing random patches of skin as they’re revealed. He tosses it to the side and then pulls her skirt down, letting her step out of it before flinging it to join the shirt. “Permission to speak?” he asks, looking at her with passion sparking in his eyes.

“Permission granted,” she says, her mouth going dry with how hot this is.

“I will never tire of seeing you like this,” he says. Then he undoes her bra and pulls down her underwear. He steps back to await instructions.

“Very good, Maxwell,” she says, standing there in all her naked glory for him to view. With a sashay in her hips, she turns from him and walks over to the bed, climbing into the middle and lying back. “Maxwell?” she asks.

“Yes ma’am?” he replies obediently.

“Come here and worship my body,” she demands with a growl.

“Yes ma’am,” he says, his voice matching her intensity.

Maxwell dives onto the bed, stopping at Riley’s feet. He picks up one foot and lovingly kisses all over the top of it, working his way up her leg. Then he starts again on the other foot. All the way up, he alternates between legs, stopping to attack any spot that makes Riley hiss with pleasure with extra vigor. He passes by her center, but kisses her hips, stomach, up her chest. Then he takes one hand, kissing each finger tip and all over the front and back before moving up her arm.

Riley shivers with pleasure as Maxwell lavishes attention on every erogenous zone he’s able to find. He’s working her up to new levels of arousal that she never thought were possible. She feels ready to go off like a rocket at even the tiniest touch to her clit, but he stubbornly avoids it while showing devotion to every other inch of her skin.

She lets him continue his exploration for a lot longer than she wants to, because she can tell he’s having the time of his life. No matter how many times he trails kisses over her body, he doesn’t seem to tire of it in the slightest. But when he skips over her center for the third time, Riley loses it.

“Maxwell! If you know what’s good for you, you’ll get your tongue back here where it belongs!” she cries out, lifting her hips so he can’t misunderstand her meaning.

“Yes ma’am,” he says, and dives down to her center, slowly licking and swirling his tongue around her throbbing, slick bud.

“Ahh, fuuuuck,” Riley moans out, finally getting the attention she so desperately needed.

This time, when her legs begin to shake, she doesn’t even have to tell him to finger her, he just does it instinctively. The added intensity makes her cry out.

Maxwell lifts his head to shush her. “As sexy as you sound, we can’t wake Bertrand!” he says, and then goes back to what he was doing.

“Ugh, don’t mention your brother when you’re doing things like this,” she says, but covers her mouth with her hand before she groans again.

Riley’s thighs tremble as Maxwell works harder and harder to make her climax. With each passing second, the fire inside of her grows into a raging inferno until she can no longer take it anymore. She comes, hard, biting down on her fist muffle her scream.

He keeps going and it becomes far too much stimulation, so she pushes him off of her. “Strip and lie down,” she commands.

He scrambles to obey, shoving his clothes off as quickly as possible.

Once he’s lying down with his head on the pillow, Riley crawls up to kiss him on the lips, tasting herself. She hums with pleasure. “May I sit on your face?” she asks with a cheeky grin.

Maxwell’s eyes bug out and he nods fervently. “God, yes, Riley.”

“Good,” she says, swinging her leg so she’s straddling his face and looking down his body. “Now lick.”

He obeys without question, moaning at his total surrender to the situation. He moans even harder when Riley leans down and takes him into her mouth. She spends very little time teasing, instead getting straight to the business of getting him off as efficiently as possible. Maxwell’s grateful for that since he feels like he’s been on edge for hours now.

The closer Maxwell gets, the noisier he gets, and Riley thinks to herself that it’s a good thing she’s sitting on his face and muffling him, or else HE’D be the one waking Bertrand with his racket. Finally, she feels his fingers dig into her hips and he calls out, “RILEY!” He releases into her mouth and she sucks it all down, every spurt until he’s twitching his hips, trying to get away. She slides off of his face and down into the bed next to him.

“Oh my God, Riley. You’re beyond amazing,” he says, trying to catch his breath.

“I’m glad you think so,” she says, beaming.

“Tomorrow is going to be so hard,” Maxwell laments. “I’m not ready to give you up.”

He scoops her into an embrace and she hugs him back. “We’ll find time to be together, Maxwell, don’t worry. I’ll make sure of it!”

“But we really shouldn’t. Not like this...not until we clear your name. I don’t want to cause anymore problems for your reputation just because I’ve become addicted to kissing you.” He kisses the top of her head as emphasis.

“What if I’ve become addicted to kissing you, too?” she asks, speaking into his throat where her face is smooshed up against him.

He’s quiet for so long that she thinks he’s fallen asleep. Then he says, “When it comes down to it, I don’t think I’ll be able to resist you one way or another.”

She shivers happily at his words. “Well, let’s forget about tomorrow, and just enjoy this night we have together. We’ll figure the rest out as we go."

“Yeah, you’re right.” He lets her go and she rolls onto her side so that he’s spooning her. “Goodnight, Riley.”

“Goodnight, Maxwell,” she says on a yawn.

Though there’s a lot on both of their minds, they fall asleep quickly, feeling safe in each others arms.


	13. Epilogue

Maxwell wakes early in the morning and sneaks out of Riley’s room as quietly as he can. He’s feeling like he’s on top of the world after yesterday, but then he turns and runs directly into Bertrand. Maxwell starts stammering out an excuse, but Bertrand puts a hand up to stop him. 

“I’ve suspected something was going on between you two for a while now,” Bertrand tells him, doing the disappointed eyebrows that Maxwell hates so much. “This ends this second. We’re starting the engagement tour today and we will not be distracted from our duty, do you understand?”

Maxwell looks at his feet and nods. 

“I can’t hear you, Maxwell,” Bertrand snarls.

“I understand!” he says louder. 

“I’m not sure you do,” Bertrand says, sporting the most severe scowl Maxwell’s ever seen on his face. “If I catch you…cavorting with Riley at all on this tour, you will be sent home to do nothing but the accounts until the tour is over. Do. You. Hear. Me?” he asks, leaning closer to Maxwell with every word until he appears to be looming over his taller younger brother. 

“I hear you! I promise!” Maxwell cries out, tears leaking from the corner of his eyes. 

“Good. Now, go get ready for the day. Don’t forget to pack!” Bertrand goes to knock on Riley’s door but Maxwell stops him. 

“No, don’t. It will mortify her if you talk to her about this. I’ll just…I’ll stop. Don’t talk to her,” Maxwell pleads. 

“Fine,” Bertrand agrees, still scowling. “But I will be watching you both. Closely.” 

Maxwell watches Bertrand walk away with tears streaming down his face. He knew things were going way too well for him. With great impatience, he wipes the tears from his eyes and goes to do what Bertrand told him to: pack. While he does that, he’ll lock down his feelings so deep inside they never see the light of day again.

THE END.   
(for now)


End file.
